‘Let us live healthy.’ Group asks Manatee Health Department to oppose school openings

With less than one month before the start of school, a group of teachers and other community members are still pushing for online learning in the first semester, as COVID-19 continues to plague the state.

Dozens of people circled the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County on Friday morning, honking their cars and waving signs. “Have a heart, delay the start,” a sign read. “We are not your guinea pigs,” another said.

Tiffany Pepsin, one of the co-organizers, helped to run a similar demonstration outside of the school district’s office in downtown Bradenton, just before a vital school board meeting on July 14. The board went on to approve three options for students: a full return to in-person classes, the full-time continuation of online learning or a mix of the two.

The board also delayed the start of school by one week, moving students’ first day to Aug. 17. The board’s vice chair, Charlie Kennedy, has since proposed that all students begin with online classes and then start their chosen options on Aug. 31, delaying their in-person return.

Board members may discuss his proposal at their board meeting on Tuesday, but Pepsin said any return to school was irresponsible in the first quarter. She believes online learning should be the standard until COVID-19 infections decline, citing the inability to practice social distancing on campus.

Board members were constrained by a state order, requiring schools to reopen five days a week, but the same order gave weight to the opinion of local experts. The order was subject to “advice and orders” from the state health department and its county offices, so Pepsin and her co-organizers shifted their attention on Friday.

Pepsin said the demonstration was not a protest but a show of support. She believes state leaders are muzzling the county’s health officials, who work under the state health department, and she hoped to encourage more transparency.

“It is their duty,” she said, standing outside of the county health department “They are here to protect us, and we are here to give them the strength and empower them to do that.”

Pepsin said her colleague Robert Shackelford, a longtime teacher at Sarasota High School, recently died of COVID-19 complications. Pepsin said she was pushing for online classes to prevent more deaths and to save local hospitals from becoming overwhelmed.

She was tired of seeing obituaries, and while death is a known outcome for some COVID-19 patients, the long-term effects of the disease are still unknown, Pepsin said.

”Give us a chance,” she said. “Let us live healthy lives.”

Earlier this month, when asked for an opinion on the reopening of schools, a spokesman for the Manatee County Health Department would not answer. Christopher TIttel referred questions to the school district in an email on July 7, and he did not immediately respond to a follow-up on Friday.

During a meeting on Thursday evening, the school board discussed Kennedy’s proposal. It would effectively delay students’ in-person return, allowing more time for district employees to prepare for the 2020-21 school year. It would also allow the community to cut down on infections by wearing masks and social distancing.

Board member James Golden said the existing plan afforded several options to families, making the best of a grim situation. While some residents and school board members believe a delay would protect Manatee County residents, Golden said the opposite was possible.

“The highest percentage of people who want their children to return full time are in the poorest neighborhoods,” he said. “They need to return to brick and mortar, and they have to in spite of the dangers because those people have to go to work and earn a living.”

Conversely, board member Scott Hopes said the proposal had “a lot of merit,” and that he would research the potential benefits and downfalls before their next meeting. As of Friday morning, there were 7,520 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 153 related deaths in Manatee County, according to the state health department.

“Anybody who thinks come Christmas or Thanksgiving that we’re not going to have to make difficult decisions about schools and school closures and modifications of this plan is living in some fantasy or nirvana movie,” Hopes said.

Tuesday’s school board meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Meetings are still closed to the public as a precaution against COVID-19, but they are broadcast on Spectrum Channel 646 and Frontier Channel 39, along with www.mstv.us.

To submit a public comment, email public_comment@manateeschools.net.

This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 2:16 PM.