Kansas Gov’s Plan to Delay School Reopening Meets with Opposition from School Board

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. wants to delay school reopening until September 08, but several members of the State School Board have voted to reject the plan. However, the results of the voting that took place last Wednesday led to a split decision of 5 in favor vs. 5 opposed.

To make the school board’s decision final and official, the majority must have voted in its favor. Moreover, whichever decision arrived at by the Board of Education, the states’ public health 0fficials must also sign off to signify agreement.

Reason Behind the No Votes

Board members who voted to oppose Governor Kelly’s plan of moving the school reopening to September, contend that the plan should not be a blanket approach. As it is, some districts have relatively low numbers of COVID-19 infection, and preventing them from safely reopening schools in August would be unfair for the community. .

Reason Behind the Yes Votes

On the other hand, five members voted in favor of Governor Kelly’s September 08 reopening because they also think it is not yet the ideal time to do so. They are citing science experts’ opinion that the spread of COVID-19 is still ongoing, which means they can still be transmitted through the school children.

However, all members said that the main concern being communicated by parents and teachers is not when schools will reopen, but on how classes can be held safely.

Opinion of Kansas Health Secretary

The Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Dr. Lee Norman, gave his opinion during the board meeting. He conveyed that he is in favor of the governor’s plan to move the reopening on September. He explained that in delaying the start would hopefully give the states number of COVID-19 cases a chance to go down. In the meantime, districts will have more time to obtain the much needed personal protective equipment.

At the time of the meeting, Johns Hopkins University reported that there are more than 23,160 active cases in Kansas, while 317 have died.

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