On schools, Ducey sets a new level for punting

Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday announced that the state will develop public health benchmarks to guide when Arizona’s public schools can safely reopen.

The schools just won’t have to abide by those benchmarks. In fact, they won’t even know what those benchmarks are until Aug. 17.

Put another way: Ducey just elevated the fine art of the punt to an entirely new level.

Ducey and state Superintendent Kathy Hoffman were on the right track when they announced that the state Department of Health Services would develop benchmarks based on public health data to guide when it would be safe for kids to return to their school.

“We’re going to continue to take a responsible approach and the decisions will be guided by public health,” he said, during Thursday’s press conference.

But then the train went barreling off the tracks when they made it clear that abiding by those public health benchmarks will be optional.

I think they called it being “flexible.” Seems to me “responsible” is what they should have been shooting for.

A responsible approach would be to lay out a set of basic health metrics that must be met – heavy emphasis on the word “must” – before school districts in a county could reopen for face-to-face learning.

Former state Health Director Will Humble, now executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, has laid out specific criteria that he believes must happen within a county before its schools can safely reopen. They include a 30-day drop in the number of new cases; a positive test rate of less than 5% for two weeks and 80% of case and contact tracing investigations completed within 96 hours of sample collection over a 21-day period.

In other words, even with signs that COVID-19 may be starting to decline, we’re not there yet.

But it turns out school districts don’t have to get there – or to whatever benchmarks DHS ultimately recommends – in order to throw open the doors.

Ducey did lay out some encouraging things. He plans to fully fund distance learning, removing a huge worry from school districts that otherwise would be facing budget cuts.

He also plans to pump $370 million in CARES Act funding into schools to cover added costs due to the coronavirus. That includes $40 million to expand broadband service and $20 million to support “high-need” schools, in an effort to close the achievement gap that likely widened given the inability to go to school.

He also ordered that every school district and charter school, beginning on Aug. 17, must provide “free onsite

The Maricopa County Democratic Party posted a video of the fire damage on Friday evening on Facebook, saying their building had been “completely ruined.”

“We are saddened by this act of violence but not deterred. We will flip #MaricopaCounty blue this November,” the post read.

Steven Slugocki, county party chair, said he believes all of their computers, phones, desks, and files were lost in the fire.

“It’s a devastating loss for us and I’m truly heartbroken,” Slugocki told The Arizona Republic.

The fire comes as the county Democratic Party was set for its summer convention on Saturday.

More than 700 Democrats from across Maricopa County were to attend the virtual event, where candidates make their pitch to voters, raise money and talk about the party’s activities heading into November.

It’s unclear how the fire will affect the event, said Slugocki.

U.S. Sen. Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., was to address county Democrats with a prerecorded message.

While it’s too early to know the cause of the fire, Slugocki said he is thankful no one was hurt.

“Maricopa County Democratic Party is not stopping at this office, we’re still going to continue our work,” he said. “We’re going to find a way to rise above this and continue the work that we are supposed to be doing.”

Now, the Arizona Democratic Party is using the fire and its extensive damage as a way to step up fundraising, with just 100 days to go ahead of the November election.

“The damage is a devastating blow to the hard work and dedication of the teams at the state and county parties,” the fundraising email said. “However, as with any setback we have encountered, we will adapt, rebuild, and continue moving ever forward for the sake of creating a better Arizona that works for all of us.”

The contents of the county office included laptops and tablets and years of documents and historic election memorabilia, according to a statement released by the county party on Friday. They are also seeking donations.