Fear, anger upstage return to classes in Palm Beach

The return to school campuses in Palm Beach County is being marred by fear, anger, poor communication and an exodus of students.

County schools are scheduled to open Sept. 21, but many teachers and some School Board members say the district is far from ready.

The new year started remotely on Aug. 31 due to continued concerns over COVID-19, but enrollment figures show thousands of kids are gone, particularly in the elementary grades. District officials said it’s unclear how many will return once buildings

IN SPORTS: Palm Beach County School Board plan would start football season Oct. 30.

reopen.

Enrollment numbers from Sept. 4 show 191,000 students were enrolled, down by 7,000 students from last year. If those students don’t return by the official state enrollment in early October, the district could face big budget cuts and employee layoffs.

Those include kindergartners whose parents have decided not to send them to school yet and children woh are now being

home-schooled or attending private schools, officials said. Broward County has reported a similar decline.

“My fears are really, really strong that we will have to get to a position of layoffs and I’m beyond terrified for that, not just for our employees but the community as a whole,” Board member Erica Whitfield said. “The impact could be so great for the whole county. We’re the largest employer.”

Many teachers have voiced health concerns and have asked to work remotely. Some will get that chance, but others will have to work or take unpaid leave, Superintendent Donald Fennoy said Wednesday, angering teachers and School Board member Marcia Andrews, a former personnel director for the district.

“It should not be a choice between your life and your livelihood. People are afraid. They have a lot of anxiety,” Andrews said.

Board members say they are being flooded with panicked emails from teachers, other employees and parents.

“Teachers are still uncertain what their classrooms will look like and they’re concerned we won’t process requests for distance learning before the school year starts or won’t have enough {personal protection equipment],” board member Karen Brill said.

“Bus drivers are worried about what happens if children refuse to wear masks,” Brill said. “Parents are concerned a return to brick and mortar simply means they’ll be online all day in a classroom instead of home.”

Classroom Teachers Association President Justin Katz has complained that teachers were misled about whether they got to work at home, initially being told they could if they were uncomfortable returning to school before doing an about-face. He called for the removal of the district’s human resources director.

“I’ve never seen us stumble this greatly before,” Katz said.

Board member Debra Robinson said much of the frustration is to be expected.

“It’s a pandemic,” she said. “We have all these competing interests. We have to stay focused first on health and safety.”

Board members on Wednesday evening were still debating what the new school year would look like.