Students protest at Lexington-Richland 5 school board meeting over COVID-19 concerns
Student protesters chanted, “hybrid til safe” and “hey ho four day’s gotta go,” outside of the Lexington-Richland school board meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Around 100 students and a handful of teachers held signs and voiced their opposition to a 4 or 5-day-a-week in-person school schedule while COVID cases are still surging.
“We believe that we and the teachers are the ones that have to endure the decision. Whatever the board decides, we’re the ones that have to live with it, and our voices deserve to be heard,” said Bryson Stutts, a student at Spring Hill High School.
Many signs backed Superintendent Christina Melton for her proposal to roll back the reopening of school buildings.
Protests came after three district high schools closed Tuesday because of low staffing after a high number of teachers took a day of leave, likely in response to the school board’s inaction Monday night on Melton’s new plan.
Melton proposed that students in seventh to 12th grade return to a hybrid schedule, spending two days a week at school and three days learning remotely, rather than the current four-day-a-week in-school schedule. The school board adjourned that night without taking a vote on Melton’s proposal.
On Tuesday, a high number of teachers requested leave from work, causing Irmo, Dutch Fork and Chapin high schools to close because of short staffing.
Many believe the shortage of teachers Tuesday was a form of protest against the school board. After the teacher shortage, the board scheduled another meeting for Wednesday.
One of the student organizers, Abigail Shirley, 18, from Spring Hill High School, used a megaphone to remind the crowd to social distance and to keep masks on.
When Wednesday night’s meeting began, students took turns standing in front of the window of the boardroom and showing the school board members their signs. The protesters were asked to stop chanting during the meeting so board members could hear each other.
Police were stationed around the building at 1020 Dutch Fork Road.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 6:12 PM.