MCSD reconsiders school reopening date amid coronavirus after passionate board debate
The Muscogee County School District is now evaluating when it would reopen for the 2020-21 academic year as coronavirus continues to surge in Columbus.
No decision was evident from Monday night’s monthly work session, conducted via video conference, but the school board’s debate came back to this point: The spike in local COVID-19 cases has caused enough concern for the administration to reconsider its plan.
MCSD was on track to reopen Aug. 10. Parents and guardians were asked to choose for their children in-person instruction on campus, with protocols to lessen the spread of the deadly pandemic, or continue with the online learning that was implemented when school buildings were closed in March. Employees also were asked their preference.
Now, it’s superintendent David Lewis who has the tough choice after hearing various passionate opinions from board members who said they have been overwhelmed with complaints from parents and employees about the options.
Some board members spoke in favor of delaying the start of classes until after Labor Day. That would provide more time to gather information and conduct training, and more time for the infection rate to subside.
Other board members spoke in favor of starting classes as scheduled but doing it completely online. That would provide instruction for students as soon and safely as possible, and prevent the school year from extending into next summer.
The dissatisfaction among board members prompted Lewis to promise to consult with local medical experts again and return with another recommendation.
Possible delay of reopening
District 2 representative Mike Edmondson is the board member who requested the discussion during Monday night’s work session. He acknowledged the hardship for parents who have jobs that don’t allow them to be home to monitor their children’s online learning.
“However, I have difficulty with restarting school on the back of teachers for purely economic reasons,” said Edmondson, a retired teacher.
He wants to delay the reopening and return with only online instruction, then evaluate the situation after the first nine-week grading period.
“I am incredibly uncomfortable with seeing people go face-to-face in buildings,” he said. “… You’re seeing what we get when we say it’s OK to hit the bars and restaurants and beaches.”
District 7 representative Cathy Williams also adamant against reopening campuses in August.
“I am increasingly uncomfortable, and I’m bordering on being terrified,” she said. “… We don’t know enough about this disease.”
District 1 representative Pat Hugley Green, the board’s chairwoman, said, “All of us are being inundated with phone calls and conversations from both sides.”
Green suggested starting classes in August as scheduled but only online.
“I’m not confident or sold that, delaying it, we’re going to be any different,” she said.
Green noted the 1% Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that Columbus voters renewed last month for another five years will help MCSD pay for more computer devices and mobile internet access to improve the online learning experience for students.
“Teachers have said that we need training on being able to teach virtually so that we don’t end up where we were in March if something changes with this disease and it becomes worse,” Green said.
Kia Chambers, the nine-member board’s lone countywide representative, agreed with Green.
“Kids can be asymptomatic and take that home to the parents and the grandparents that are raising them,” said Chambers, a former teacher. “… Our students already have lost so much instructional time, and they cannot afford to not go ahead and start in August. … Start the first nine weeks virtually, then see how this pandemic pans out.”
Virtual learning vs in-person classes
District 5 representative Laurie McRae, the board’s vice chairwoman, said 52% of parents and guardians who responded to MCSD’s survey want their children to return to in-person instruction. The Ledger-Enquirer requested but hasn’t received the results of the surveys, which also asked employees for their preference.
“Without exception, my children need to be back in school,” McRae said. “It is not an economic reason. … It’s kind of insulting to say that’s the only reason involved in this. The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out and said that children need to be back in school. There are a lot of other reasons why they need to be in school: academic, physical, mental. … Parents should be able to decide what is best for their students and their family.”
McRae added that her children have “every resource they need,” but their online learning experience during the spring wasn’t adequate.
“I get that it will be done better this fall, but it is still far from optimal,” she said. “… For those young students who do not have those things, even if we give them a hotspot and a Chromebook, if their parents aren’t engaged and making sure they sit down and spend time doing this, how are they going to learn how to read? It blows my mind for these younger children how much of a setback it’s going to be.”
District 6 representative Mark Cantrell asked his Facebook followers about starting classes after Labor Day. Out of more than 700 comments, he said, only 10 were against the idea.
“This gives us an extra month to see if it’s gotten worse,” he said.
District 4 representative Naomi Buckner, a special-education teacher in Chattahoochee County, advocated for starting school as scheduled but online only.
“I know students need their teacher,” she said. “I know they need to be in the classroom. Yet, I am afraid for them to go back at the cost of life in these uncertain times. So if the numbers keep creeping up, … I might be for the virtual too because of just safety. To me, the risk is too high.”
Lewis noted the surveys were conducted before the number of local COVID-19 cases escalated, but he emphasized, “There is no substitute for kids in front of a well-qualified, effective teacher. Period. Anything else is secondary.”
Williams interjected, “Death is not secondary.”
Lewis continued, “I’m just simply saying from the standpoint of instruction. … But, obviously, we don’t want to jeopardize anybody’s health and safety and welfare.”
District 3 representative Vanessa Jackson favors starting classes online only.
“I totally agree with Mike and Kia,” she said.
District 8 representative Philip Schley called for entrusting Lewis to make the best decision for the district.
“He’s the professional,” Schley said. “He’s the one who knows the most about education.”
Lewis sparked laughter when he said, “The one consensus I think is pretty much held commonly throughout the community is nobody wants to be Dr. Lewis right now.”
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
