Kansas school board rejects governor's executive order delaying start of the school year

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

As school districts across the country grapple with how and when to reopen safely during the coronavirus pandemic, the Kansas State Board of Education rejected Gov. Laura Kelly's executive order delaying the start of the school year despite rising cases of COVID-19 in the state.

In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, the 10-person board effectively blocked the order, which would have barred any public and private school K-12 instruction from Aug. 10 to Sept. 8, in a split vote. School districts can now decide when they want to start the school year for more than half a million students.

Kelly announced the executive order last week before releasing details on Monday. The additional three weeks, she said, would provide schools time to obtain supplies like masks, thermometers and hand sanitizer, as well as review curriculum options on in-person, hybrid and virtual learning that the state's board of education released last week.

A law enacted last month by the Republican-controlled state legislature required the board to approve the Democratic governor's executive order for school reopening.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/kansas-school-board-rejects-governors-executive-order-delaying/story?id=71924448&cid=clicksource_4380645_7_heads_posts_card_hed

[WVreaper]

1. Lab rats!

[jimfields33]

3. When compared to other states, 319 deaths in total is probably why

They have a population of 2.9 million. I’m sure the board looked at that. Not every state is Arizona.

[rzemanfl]

4. Florida, Arizona, New York, and other states at one time had 319 deaths. n/t

[jimfields33]

9. Good point!

[relayerbob]

6. Yet

[Blue_playwright]

13. Our hospitals are filling up ...

... and it’s getting bad. And idiots - and their law maker Repuke super-idiots - make opening schools seem very stupid.

[Maxheader]

2. Let the boe ..

Carry the responsibility for the children's safety..

And if one student catches corona...I want charges brought

against these self centered, self righteous bastards..

[BigmanPigman]

8. A teacher in FL got Covid and is suing the state now.

Teachers' unions, individual teachers and eventually children's' parents are going to start suing withing 6 weeks of reopening. When staff or students get sick the classroom or whole school will have to quarantine for a few weeks, go back to school then they will be quarantined again, and again, and again, etc. This costs schools a lot of $$$ (they are already broke) and there are already no substitutes or enough room to teach smaller class sizes. When mom and dad learn that sports, music, etc is canceled they will not be so happy either...but that is what they will have in the "new normal". Schools will not be open for long. I predict an enormous rise in cases of all age levels when parents send kids back...just in time for the Nov election.

That should get those GOP reps who want to reopen early plenty of votes....

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. "In a VIRTUAL meeting on Wednesday"

think about that phrase.

[Doreen]

7. Yeah, my first thought.

They can send hundreds of children, school staff, and their families to their possible deaths but preserve theirs.

[ouija]

10. The UFT in NYC

“We will vote to strike before going into a classroom.”

[rpannier]

14. That caught my attention as well

[Marthe48]

11. according to worldometer 7109 deaths worldwide today

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Good point about the school board in a virtual meeting. Cruel.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. The first question that came to my mind was:

How many of them have kids in public schools?

[Bayard]

15. Pay attention to what they do, not what they say.

While the trump admin sternly tells the cities/states they have to act more aggressively to get the virus under control, local rethuglicans continue to subvert those efforts.

I agree--the school board should have called their meeting in a small classroom with bad ventilation.