The surge of COVID has the Marshalltown Community School District preparing, but not quite ready to push, the remote learning button.

Superintendent Sr. Theron Schutte emailed a letter to parents yesterday urging them to have plans in place, should the district have to move to a two-week-long period of remote learning.

Schutte emphasized that the district is not at that point yet. But since the latest surge has launched Marshall County’s COVID rate above the 20 percent threshold, the conversations about what to do if either the absentee rate exceeds 10 percent or staffing drops below an acceptable level. Schutte added that school district data shows the spread of the virus is taking place outside of school settings.