‘I don’t work for the governor.’ Some Manatee board members push back on school order

Under the pressure from state and federal officials, schools throughout Florida are scrambling toward a full reopening in August, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Some Manatee County leaders are wary of the rushed process.

Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran has directed all schools to open at least five days per week in the 2020-21 school year. He filed the order on Monday, about one month before the start of school, and President Donald Trump applauded Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, praising Florida’s move to reopen schools.

“We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools, to get them open,” Trump said on Tuesday. “And it’s very important. It’s very important for our country. It’s very important for the well-being of the student and the parents.”

The School Board of Manatee County will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday to grapple with its plans and the new order. In-person meetings are still closed to the public, as a safety precaution against COVID-19, but the meetings are broadcast on Spectrum Channel 646 and Frontier Channel 39, along with on www.mstv.us.

Superintendent Cynthia Saunders spoke with Dr. Jennifer Bencie, head of the local health department, on Tuesday afternoon. Saunders will present her suggestions at Thursday’s board meeting, and Bencie was supportive of the superintendent’s plan, according to district spokesman Mike Barber.

That plan included the reopening of schools, as outlined in the emergency order, along with the option for families to continue online learning. It was possible that Manatee would also offer a hybrid option, but the superintendent planned to join a call with the state education department on Wednesday afternoon, and the need for changes is always possible, Barber said.

“There might need to be alterations in the plan, depending on what transpires late this afternoon,” he said. “Things are moving very rapidly.”

The superintendent released her original proposal in late June: A full return for elementary students, and a hybrid schedule for students in grades six through 12, rotating older students between in-person and online classes each week.

Charlie Kennedy, the board’s vice chair, was uneasy about the last-minute order from Tallahassee. He wondered how schools could open at capacity and still maintain social distancing, and whether the district could protect its vulnerable employees.

“I think we, Manatee County schools, should just proceed with the plan we already have,” Kennedy said. “This is another one of those Richard Corcoran edicts that he probably doesn’t have the actual power to make. I think there’s going to be some legal questions.”

On Wednesday morning, one day before the school board meeting, the Florida Department of Health reported 190 new cases of COVID-19 in Manatee County, the third-highest daily count on record. As of last weekend, a total of 332 children — about 35 percent of those tested — had tested positive for COVID-19.

“Make no mistake, we have community spread,” board member Scott Hopes said, citing the infection rate among local children.

According to the recent order, a full return to school was subject to “advice and orders” from the state health department and its county offices. The Department of Health in Manatee County would not comment on whether schools could safely reopen on Tuesday, when it referred questions to the school district.

Regardless, it was the board‘s responsibility to protect 50,000 students and thousands of employees in the school district, Hopes said.

“If each one of those individuals only has contact with four people in the community, our school community basically has contact, every day, with over half the population of Manatee County,” he said. “I love research, but I’m not about to use the Manatee County School District for a study of how quickly you can spread the virus this fall.”

According to Hopes’ interpretation of Corcoran’s order, the school district could submit a plan to the Florida Department of Education, outlining its intentions and the local factors that may prevent a full reopening of schools.

That plan should include in-person and online classes, as originally planned, until the number of infections dropped in Manatee County, Hopes said.

He then pointed to a sentence in the order: “Absent these directives, the day-to-day decision to open or close a school must always rest locally,” it said, going on to list the school board and the superintendent as decision makers.

“I have no problem going up to Tallahassee, sitting in front of the governor and the commissioner of education, and laying out this case. They know me and they know my background,” said Hopes, who has a master’s degree in epidemiology.

“When I first met with the health department and Dr. Bencie’s team, they were reacting to the governor’s direction, and their comment was they work for the governor,” he continued, referencing a meeting that was held in March. “They are right. They work for the governor. As a school board member, I don’t work for the governor and neither do my colleagues.”

In his order, Corcoran said the reopening would benefit working families and help Florida reach its “full economic stride.” He also said that schools offer more than an education. They offer food, activities and social interaction.

While school was important for students’ mental growth and social-emotional health, Hopes said the return should be measured. Children live with at-risk adults, posing not only a risk to the students, but also their families and other community members.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Hopes said a full and safe return to school would have to include N95 masks, along with eye and hand protection for employees and students.

“This is not your common cold,” Hopes said. “This is not your annual flu. This is a new bug in the human population. We don’t know how long it stays in your body. We don’t know what kind of problems it causes into the future.”

During a press conference in early June, Gov. DeSantis said reopening plans were “locally driven decisions” that would vary by county. About one month later, the education commissioner ordered a full return to school, catching local leaders off guard.

“I think, like a lot of parents and teachers and even board members, I was surprised about the order because the district and the board were told the decision would be laid in the community’s hands,” said Gina Messenger, the school board’s chair.

In an interview on Tuesday, she said the board was forced to comply with the order or risk some of the district’s government funding.

Her fear was confirmed the same day, in an interview between Fox News host Tucker Carlson and the U.S. education secretary, Betsy DeVos.

“We are looking at this very seriously,” DeVos said, responding to a question about the need to withhold federal funding when schools fail to completely reopen.

Messenger said the school board would discuss reopening plans and the emergency order on Thursday afternoon. The board is expected to finalize a plan on July 14, though expectations could change before or after the start of school on Aug. 10.

“I do wholeheartedly believe in and support the school district,” Messenger said. “I do believe they will be able to work through this and find the best and safest way possible with what has been asked of us.”

Board members James Golden and Dave Miner could not be reached for comment.

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 4:16 PM.