‘Hypocritical,’ ‘disingenuous’: SCS’ Ray rebukes Gov. Lee’s call for open school buildings.
As an education-focused legislative session began in the state’s capital Tuesday, Gov. Bill Lee made pointed comments repeating his call for in-person learning, consequentially drawing ire from Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray.
“We invite state leaders to step away from privileged podiums,” Ray began during Tuesday evening’s board meeting, “and try to understand the many concerns of our students, parents, and teachers.”
Ray said leaders sent “a mixed and hypocritical message” by appearing on video for the meeting.
The hearing was in person in Nashville, with a limited number of visitors allowed into House hearings and floor sessions. Senate proceedings at the General Assembly, meanwhile, remain closed to the public.
Said Lee: “Months ago, when critics were loud and the scare tactics were louder with all the reasons why we couldn’t safely return students and teachers to the classroom, we traded that speculation for science.”
“I commend those districts, those local leaders and educators for not settling for the path of least resistance and hiding behind month after month of virtual learning with no end in sight,” Lee added.
SCS, the state’s largest district, has not opened buildings to students since shuttering them last March, remaining the only district in the state to do so. Ray has repeatedly voiced concerns about the community conditions of the virus, twice delaying planned reopening dates for students due to increased spread of COVID-19.
Given the choice to return, most families and teachers also chose to remain virtual instead of returning to buildings. The latest data comes from the district’s most recent re-entry survey, completed by families in the fall.
Of the 88,000 students enrolled in the district’s traditional schools, about a third, or 28,000, will return to classrooms when the district does reopen buildings, with families of nearly 60,000 choosing to keep them in virtual learning.
“Across the nation, the tragic toll of this unprecedented pandemic continues to disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities,” Ray said. “In Memphis and Shelby County, and in other urban areas in America, nearly everyone knows someone who has been seriously ill or died from COVID-19. It is disingenuous to think that the children of poor families need any less protection than children in other settings.”
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released in December, reiterated what districts and other researchers were seeing across the country: Black and Hispanic or Latino parents, the study found, were more concerned about sending students back to class.
Of the district’s students, nearly 92% identify as Black or Hispanic, state data shows.
What is known scientifically about how community transmission and schools are intertwined has changed throughout the pandemic, as has the level of community transmission. Though reopened schools were feared to fuel spread early on, data proved that was not necessarily the case. But it remained unclear how that changed when community spread worsened.
A new study examining transmission in schools reveals a correlation between community conditions and school transmissions. In areas with higher numbers of cases, the in-person school does spread the virus, Chalkbeat has reported.
Another recent study was not able to rule out the possibility of a similar possibility, meaning that it’s unclear when community conditions tip toward making school reopening a risk.
Tennessean reporters Natalie Allison and Meghan Mangrum contributed.
Laura Testino covers education and children’s issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @Ldtestino