Let our educators say when to reopen
Here we go again! The irresponsible threat from President Donald Trump, the White House and the secretary of education calling for schools to prematurely reopen sounds a lot like a shotgun echo from two months ago asking states to reopen prematurely. The results of that action — a skyrocketing spread of COVID-19 that has almost set us back to where we started. This is not a time for politicians to interfere in the decisionmaking process of education professionals who must consider many other factors outside of just opening the doors to the schoolhouse. Mr. President, there are lives to consider, including those of millions of children, young adults and educators across this nation. Our school systems are community-based institutions and local leaders have the ability to determine what is best for their particular communities. Putting a gun to the heads of our school systems and asking them to play Russian roulette by making a choice between funding and the safety of our children and educators is just plain wrong and irresponsible.
Over 1 billion students worldwide remain affected by school closures. It is the job of elected officials to ensure our schools have the proper and necessary funding to educate our most precious American resource, but at the same time we must ensure they have the necessary resources to provide for the safety of those opening their school doors during this ongoing epidemic. The president suggested that other countries, including Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, had opened their schools safely, but what he fails to admit is that no other country opening their schools continue to show the high infection and death rates we are seeing here in America; and new COVID-19 hot spots are occurring every day in the United States. Additionally, we are still trying to get an accurate understanding of the degree to which children are susceptible to COVID-19 and the extent to which they contribute to community spread of COVID-19. That would have a real impact on students, teachers and support staff who are in close proximity in a building.
We all want our children back in the classroom, but not without the proper resources and knowledge to provide the safest environment possible.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the federal government provided 8.3 percent of funding for public elementary and secondary schools in 2015-2016. Today, it is approximately 10 percent of their funding. State governments provided 47 percent and local governments provided 44.8 percent. It is important to note that the bulk of federal funding for elementary and secondary schools is focused on disadvantaged students with the biggest share, about $16 billion in 2019, went to Title I grants, which go to schools with large proportions of low-income students. The second-biggest chunk, about $13.5 billion is for special education. Any cuts to federal funding would disproportionately impact lowincome students and poor school districts.
Instead of threatening the health and safety of children and cutting off funds for teachers and schools, the administration should get on board and support proposals like the Heroes Act and the Moving Forward Act which would provide states with the resources they need to reopen schools safely. The Heroes Act provides over $100 billion in direct aid to states to cover unexpected costs and to help schools recover. The Moving Forward Act invests $130 billion toward improving the physical and digital infrastructure of schools with the most need. So instead of bullying our nation’s education system, the administration should try something new — provide leadership to school districts on how they can reopen safely and provide the necessary funding so they can open their doors responsibly.
The secretary of education was already pushing for massive cuts to federal funding for public schools, including repeated proposals to completely eliminate federal funding for school-based mental health services and proposals to divert emergency aid dollars. It is my hope that this is not political posturing to achieve funding cuts on the back of COVID-19 in areas with surging infection rates, most of which are in poor and minority communities, who are not in a position to reopen schools at this time.
Yes, other countries have opened their schools, but not without ongoing challenges. Those nations’ leaders took the necessary steps to curb community spread and lower infection rates. This is not something we can hope for and wish away. It takes all of us working together, but most importantly it takes leadership. It takes leadership that will listen to the best scientists and top medical professionals on earth. Mr. President, our nation’s schools need our help now! Let’s not commit another folly by forcing schools to act too quickly and make a bad situation even worse. Let’s provide full funding and get our schools reopened faithfully and using the highest level of health protocols that stop the community spread of COVID-19.
We are better than this and our children deserve nothing less than our very best!