Gov. McMaster urges SC schools to reopen with COVID-19 precautions after Labor Day
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster urged the state’s 81 school districts on Wednesday to reopen their doors to students in-person after Labor Day, rather than hold classroom instruction online, despite a growing concern from teachers that the state’s COVID-19 outbreak poses a grave threat to them and their students.
“We must educate every child in South Carolina,” said McMaster, flanked by Republican State House leaders and health officials, but no state or district-level education leaders. “There’s nothing more essential, nothing more important we can do than educate the children of South Carolina. And, try as we might, we know that virtual education is not as good for most children than face-to-face in class ... teaching with an excellent qualified teacher, of which we have an abundance.”
The governor said children stuck in isolation face dangerous side effects, fall further behind and are being identified less frequently as victims of abuse or neglect, which is often reported by teachers, than when in school.
McMaster stressed that parents, whose tax dollars help fund schools, should have more choice over whether their child should go back to school or learn online. And he proposed that schools reopen on Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day, to allow school districts time to finalize reopening plans.
“Parents need to have the choice,” McMaster said. “It must be their choice. But we must have our schools available.”
Asked to respond to health concerns posed by educators, McMaster said teachers concerns were shared by everyone else: “We’re all in the same boat. There is no special group.”
McMaster’s push to reopen schools next month comes as the state sees some of its highest daily case counts of coronavirus, topping 2,000 two times in the last week. Total coronavirus cases for the state have surpassed 60,000, though state health officials estimate the number of actual infections is likely many times that. Nearly 1,000 people have died, including one Midlands-area child, who was under the age of five. The child’s death was announced over the weekend.
Not every education official endorsed McMaster’s target of reopening in person the day after Labor Day.
In fact, the governor’s recommendation contradicts that of Accelerate ED, a COVID-19 education advisory group that recently issued its proposal for reopening. The group recommends that schools hold “traditional,” in-person instruction online in counties with “low” virus activity, a determination made by the state’s health agency.
As of July 5, none of the 46 counties meet that standard.
McMaster also said his recommendation was not a mandate, and he did not plan to sign an executive order on it. But he urged districts to submit plans to the state that included in-person learning. The governor aimed to tamp down fears, suggesting districts have the resources and staffing to ensure minimal risk.
With Labor Day less than two months away, few districts have plans for reopening in place.
The state Department of Education has received at least five proposals from districts that spell out how they will bring students back. Other school boards in the state are slated to formalize plans this month, and many have opted for both in person and online learning.
Notably absent from McMaster’s side on Wednesday was the state’s schools chief, Superintendent Molly Spearman, a former educator. McMaster said Spearman, a Republican, was invited, as were Democratic legislative leaders and school district officials.
“But these are the ones that accepted the invitation to be here,” McMaster said.
As the governor spoke, Spearman issued a statement that said reopening decisions should be made by local officials and parents should have the choice between in-person and virtual instruction for their children. But, striking a different tone than the governor, Spearman said the state cannot “turn a blind eye” to the obvious health risks the virus poses to adults and children.
“School leaders, in consultation with public health experts, are best positioned to determine how in-person operations should be carried out to fit the needs of their local communities,” Spearman said in her statement. “I remain committed to supporting them in this endeavor and will only approve those plans that offer high quality options and keep safety as their top priority.”
Though districts were expected to submit return proposals to Spearman by Friday, Spearman told The State on Wednesday that the deadline will likely need to be extended, especially since not every school board has met to decide on how to reopen to students and on top of the governor’s pressure to make in-person realistic.
“Teachers need to feel safe and they need to trust we are making our decisions based on the most current information from DHEC (the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control) and we can logistically bring children back into their classrooms and have some type of social distancing,” said, Spearman, who said she recommended the Sept. 8 start date to the governor. “That’s why many districts are proposing a hybrid model.”
The goal is to get students in classrooms five days a week, Spearman said.
“But it is just not safe and logistically possible to do it safely right now in every district,” Spearman told The State.
Lawmakers echoed the differing perspectives on school reopenings expressed by McMaster and Spearman.
House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, said returning to schools is not a “political party issue,” but rather “it’s a personal issue.”
Telling a story about how his father had challenges as a child that made in-person learning critical to his development, Lucas encouraged educators to be “courageous” and reopen schools to help children.
State Sen. Katrina Shealy, a Lexington Republican who has made child welfare one of her signature issues, echoed the need to return children to the classroom no matter what.
“There’s no one in South Carolina that wants children to be in danger,” Shealy said. “Not one person. We don’t want to put children out there and put them in danger. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure children in South Carolina are safe.”
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler said getting students back to the classroom is a priority, “but not at the expense of lives.”
“We should be using this time to plan, examine scientific data and listen to public health experts so that we can make informed decisions,” the Lexington Democrat said in a statement.
Teachers, districts respond
Almost immediately, South Carolina teachers groups chided the governor’s recommendation.
The state’s largest teachers group, the Palmetto State Teachers Association, said it would be both “irresponsible and dangerous” to require teachers and students to return to in-person learning every day. SC for Ed, a grassroots teachers group that led a massive march at the state Capitol in 2019, said the governor’s call flies in the face of guidelines from professional health experts.
And school districts also announced the governor’s calls would have no bearing on decisions already made.
In Jasper County’s case, for example, superintendent Rechel Anderson stood by plans to return to all-virtual instruction Aug. 17.
“I’m not in the business of playing Russian Roulette with anyone’s life,” Anderson said. “And that’s really what it feels (like).”
School officials and teachers argue, aside from health concerns, schools don’t have the resources, whether money or staffing.
Lawmakers included roughly $210 million — money funneled through the federal CARES Act COVID-19 bill — in legislation passed in May that covers five additional in-person school days and academic recovery camps. Another $12 million was spent to cover districts’ costs of food service. That money must be spent by the year’s end.
South Carolina also received $194 million for school districts directly to spend on virus-related costs.
So far 58 school districts have requested that money, and education agency spokesman Ryan Brown said at least $14 million has been spent. In contrast, that money can be spent over the next two fiscal years — not by the end of December.
Spearman told The State she’s engaged in conversations to provide school districts with more resources to cover personal protective equipment, school nurses and social workers.
State lawmakers also are scheduled to return to work in September to pass a new budget that could include more money.
House budget chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, told The State on Wednesday that it would be premature to talk about how state dollars will be spent in the new budget as budget writers wait on state economists to provide them with new estimates next week of how much money the state will have to spend.
“It would not be prudent for us to start making promises until we see what our revenues are going to be (for) next year,” he said.
Smith, who has elementary and middle school-aged children, said his preference is to have them back in school.
But, he added, “you’ve got to balance that with safety of children, safety of teachers and safety of school personnel.”
“You’ve got to balance those two,” Smith said.
Lucas Daprile contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 11:32 AM.
