The Blue Springs School District will likely dismiss its lawsuit over Jackson County’s order limiting outdoor crowds to 100 people now that the county has revised its order.
The amended order, issued Friday, no longer distinguishes between indoor and outdoor gatherings and allows more than 100 people to congregate outdoors if the order’s protocols are followed.
The school district filed its lawsuit nearly a month ago after the county threatened it with sanctions for allowing 430 people to attend Blue Springs High School's football season home opener against Liberty High School.
The school district claimed the health order was arbitrary and noted that the Kansas City Chiefs had been allowed to seat more than 16,000 fans at Arrowhead Stadium.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Cory Lee Atkins denied the school district’s request for a temporary restraining order but had scheduled a trial starting today.
The trial has now been postponed, and a lawyer for the school district said it will probably dismiss the lawsuit if its application to allow more than 100 people at football games is granted by the health department.
“The school district is submitting a protocol requesting in excess of 100 people at the football games coming up for the remainder of the season,” said the lawyer, Jason K. Rew. “So we anticipate those requests being approved and then we will likely be dismissing our lawsuit.”
The revised Jackson County health order takes effect this coming Friday and permits gatherings of more than 100 people if social distancing, mask wearing and other protocols are in effect to limit transmission of the novel coronavirus.
At gatherings with fewer than 100 people, masks are still required to be worn indoors at all times and outdoors where social distancing can’t be maintained.
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