Vice President Pence in SC trip backs Gov. McMaster’s calls to reopen schools
Describing the rise in COVID-19 cases in South Carolina as “serious,” Vice President Mike Pence in Columbia on Tuesday sided with Gov. Henry McMaster on his plan to reopen schools to students after Labor Day amid growing protests from many school districts, teachers and parents.
“We’re particularly grateful for your leadership,” Pence told McMaster during an education conversation at the University of South Carolina Alumni Center, which included U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Pence added that education will be at the forefront of the government’s future COVID-19 relief efforts. “We’re with you.”
South Carolina has surpassed 73,000 positive cases of COVID-19 since the state started reporting positive virus cases in March.
On Tuesday, the state’s health department reported another 56 confirmed deaths as a result of coronavirus, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,203 deaths.
As daily coronavirus case counts in South Carolina continue to surpass 1,000 and on some days 2,000 new cases, Pence defended the Trump administration’s handling of the virus, saying the federal government is in a much better place to respond to the outbreak than two or three months ago.
“When I say that we’re in a better place, it’s a better place to respond,” Pence said, citing aid for high-risk patients, increased testing and access to protective equipment and the production of antiviral treatments. “All of that is what we mean when we say we’re in a better place. But make no mistake about the spread of the coronavirus across the Sun Belt has been serious. We’re going to continue to focus great energy and attention on it and partner very closely with your governor.”
Pence said the White House fully supports McMaster’s approach to tackling the outbreak.
“And we also fully support the efforts that neighboring governors have taken,” Pence said, adding that while the White House will continue to “give our very best guidance,” the administration’s “default setting” is to rely heavily on the state’s governors.
Last week, McMaster called on the state’s school districts to allow children to return to school for in-person class five days a week, while also offering an online option, arguing it’s a choice parents should have. But districts, including the state’s largest in Charleston and Greenville counties, say having in-person classes, five days a week is unrealistic and instead are moving forward with plans to offer students a virtual option or a hybrid in-person and online program.
State education superintendent Molly Spearman did not endorse McMaster’s plan.
Spearman did not attend Tuesday’s education discussion with the vice president and other state officials. Her spokesman Ryan Brown said she was speaking at a charter school conference in Columbia during the meeting with Pence and could not attend.
But DeVos was present for the discussion at USC and applauded McMaster’s schools push.
“You’ve taken bold steps to put students first throughout this pandemic,” said DeVos, who also praised the governor for spending $32 million federal CARES Act dollars on a one-time voucher program for private schools. The money will offset the cost of private-school tuition for families whose household incomes don’t exceed three times the federal poverty limit.
“It’s not a matter of if schools should reopen. It’s a matter of how to do it safely. How schools reopen is best left to local leaders. They know their students, their teachers, and the health situation in their area better than folks in Washington,” DeVos said.
South Carolinians are split on plans to reopen schools.
In a new Chernoff Newman poll, 43% said it could take them up to a year before they’d be comfortable sending children back to school. Another 17% said it could take longer than a year. However, 21% of those surveyed said they would be comfortable with sending students back, and 14% said they expect to be comfortable with the idea by the summer’s end.
Five percent of those surveyed said they may never be comfortable with the idea again.
Asked whether he’d send his children to school if they were younger, Pence said he wouldn’t hesitate.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to send my kids back to school based on the fact that the risk to children is low. But also ... there are real costs when our kids are not in the classroom,” Pence said, citing access to resources including nutritional support, services for learning disabilities and counseling. “We want to safely reopen our schools by creating an environment that we can be confident about safety for kids, but also for faculty.”
Pence headed to Charleston later Tuesday for a joint fundraiser for state Rep. Nancy Mace at The Citadel military college campus.
Mace won her GOP primary in June to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham in the 1st District race in November.
Joseph Bustos contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 1:44 PM.
