Kansas Board of Education botched decision on opening schools. Will districts do better?
The Kansas Board of Education’s decision Wednesday allowing the state’s school districts to open before Sept. 9 was reckless, putting students, teachers, administrators, workers and parents at risk.
It is now up to leadership in each district to act like adults and delay the start of classes until after Labor Day at the earliest.
Gov. Laura Kelly had ordered the state’s schools to remain closed until Sept. 9 to allow for additional preparations as districts navigate the threat of COVID-19. On Wednesday, five misguided members of the Kansas Board of Education rejected her order, claiming they prefer decision-making by individual districts.
The coronavirus does not know school district boundaries. If one student is infected, students and teachers in other districts, and their parents, are in greater danger. And the danger of COVID-19 in rural areas is clearly growing, further jeopardizing the state’s health.
Epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci outlined the problem this week. “Children who get infected for the most part don’t get serious illness,” he said, “but some children do get seriously ill, and some do pass it on to the adults.”
Do we want that for our children? Does a three-week delay in reopening really put students’ learning at risk? There was a time when August was considered part of the summer recess. There’s no evidence a slightly later start would set back learning.
Is this about fall football and other high school sports? Let’s pray the answer is no. No school district should open unsafely just so students can play and grown-ups can watch — and no athlete should play unless their safety is protected.
There is evidence a later opening would allow districts more time to meet tougher safety standards, including masks for almost everyone in school, cleaning standards, sanitizers and barriers to enforce social distancing requirements. The governor has appropriately ordered those actions, and thankfully, the Kansas Board of Education can’t overrule her.
Wednesday’s decision will leave districts the option of setting later opening dates, and they should do so. Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, for example, has already voted to begin classes after Labor Day, with remote learning for the first nine weeks of the school year. That decision stands, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Other districts are discussing their reopening plans. The Shawnee Mission School District may make its decision Monday, a spokesman said. Olathe Public Schools could decide Thursday. They, too, should delay the start of the school year.
Days lost to reopening must be made up later in the school year. That’s a small price to pay for safer schools, and districts should meet their responsibility to protect students’ health.
There’s no doubt that this will create a hardship for many parents and for students looking forward to the school year. But those problems pale when compared with the risk of infection and sickness from a virus still ravaging much of the country, including Kansas.
We also sympathize with parents, and teachers, facing uncertainty about the start of the school year. For that confusion, blame the Kansas Board of Education — which, by the way, met remotely Wednesday, for fear of the coronavirus.
Those voting against the governor’s order to delay reopening were: Ben Jones, Deena Horst, Jean Clifford, Michelle Dombrosky and Steve Roberts. Roberts and Dombrosky represent Johnson County, a fact voters should remember.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt lives, a regrettable fact but a fact nonetheless. Had the nation responded more appropriately last spring, it’s possible the delay in school openings could have been avoided.
But we are here, and we must react appropriately. Local school districts should keep their doors shut until after Labor Day, and longer if necessary.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 5:22 PM.