Deciding Whether to Open the Schools
Opening Schools: Everyone Should Have Skin in the Game
On the topic of deciding whether to open school, I won't claim to know what the correct answer is, but here's an idea on how we can make a better decision. Let's let the districts, teachers unions, school boards, and PTA's sort this out, but I believe the fairest decisions are made when all parties have some skin in the game.
As it stands right now the unions and districts seem content to punt, and go back to distant learning, and though it mostly goes unsaid, they also expect their full funding and full salaries. We should reject that.
While it might take, say, 25 teachers and 5 administrators to run a physical school of 600 kids, I imagine it would take less than a quarter of this total to print out weekly packets and hold a couple zoom meetings.
More to the point, while one may need to send their kids to a local school for in person schooling, who is to say that those same local teachers and administrators are best equipped to school my kids over the internet?
Simply put, if there was a law requiring that most teachers be furloughed until the schools reopen, allowing funding to be shifted to parents to pay for the home/distance learning of their choice, I think there would suddenly be a lot more urgency from some parties to get the schools back open.
Anyway 0 and 2...