Some NC school reopening plans are ‘nonsensical,’ Lt. Gov. Forest says
Lt. Gov. Dan Forest is questioning the state’s school-reopening options. He told reporters on Monday that he didn’t vote for any of North Carolina’s three possible plans for reopening schools because he doesn’t see a goal that’s been set.
Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to announce this week how schools will reopen in August.
“To suggest that our kids need to go back wearing masks every day, and taking half days in school and filling up our buses halfway and all these things. That is, based on the information we have from around the world, that is nonsensical right now. We should not be doing that,” Forest said. He said North Carolina students should be allowed to get back to school like in other countries and states.
“I don’t agree with those plans because I don’t see a plan that has goals,” he said.
The first day of school has been set by the General Assembly as Aug. 17, a week earlier than normal. That passed in a larger COVID-19 bill in early May.
Forest, who sits on the state Board of Education, said during that meeting in June that he didn’t think there were enough metrics, The News & Observer previously reported. He has questioned the amount of data that DHHS is providing on coronavirus cases.
At the June education meeting, Forest also questioned the goal.
“We’re being asked today to vote on these recommendations for the entire state but nobody seems to know what the goal line is on what we’re trying to accomplish,” Forest said then.
Under Plan A, schools would reopen with minimal social distancing, The News & Observer previously reported, as well as daily health screenings. The Department of Health and Human Services is now requiring school employees and middle school and high school students to wear face coverings.
Plan B would have reduced capacity, staggered schedules and “moderate” social distancing; while Plan C would be all-remote learning.
School districts are being asked to develop options for carrying out all three plans. Schools can use a plan that is more restrictive than what Cooper will recommend.
Wake County school administrators will recommend Thursday what plan should be used. Last week, staff laid out plans that include requiring students to pass a screening before they’re allowed to board a bus. If the student fails the screening, the driver would park the bus and keep watch on the potentially sick student until a parent arrived to take the child home.
Wake is looking at options such as having students go to schools on rotating weeks as a way to maintain social distancing.
Forest talked about the school reopening plans during a news conference Monday morning about the lawsuit he previously announced he’s filing against Cooper. He’s challenging the governor over his coronavirus executive orders being implemented without agreement from the rest of the Council of State. The Council of State includes those in statewide elected office including the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and labor commissioner, among others.
Forest is a Republican; Cooper is a Democrat. Forest is running against Cooper for governor. The Council of State is majority Republican. Multiple reopening bills that passed the state legislature include requiring concurrence from the Council of State before issuing statewide executive orders. Democrats who voted against those reopening bills said they would have taken away Cooper’s power.
Forest also told reporters he wants parents to know that there hasn’t been a serious COVID-19 outbreak in K-12 schools in the world. However, Israel closed schools after outbreaks in June, according to NPR. In France, schools were closed after outbreaks upon reopening, the Associated Press reported in May.
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This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Some NC school reopening plans are ‘nonsensical,’ Lt. Gov. Forest says."
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