Legislative leaders from both parties are asking Gov. Jim Justice to keep children out of schools for the rest of the year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a news briefing a couple of hours later, Justice declined the request, saying that decision doesn’t have to be made yet.
Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, Senate Minority Leader Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, and House Minority Leader Tim Miley, D-Harrison, today delivered a letter to Justice to request that he initiate the necessary actions to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.
“This move is necessary and makes good sense,” the four wrote.
Just yesterday, Justice pushed back the return to school buildings to April 30. The governor said he still has hope students could return, if only for a few weeks.
“I’m not going to shoot in the dark, and I’m not going to do something that denies our kids hope,” Justice said today. “I’m not willing to throw the towel in yet.”
The legislative leaders wrote that families, teachers, service personnel, and the public in general would benefit from receiving certainty about the end of the academic year, and would allow preparations for next year to begin without the cloud of the pandemic hanging over them.
They proposed erring on the side of caution.
“Current public health modeling projections suggest the COVID-19 virus will peak during the first week of May in West Virginia. Based upon these projections, we believe it would be wise to fall on the side of caution and keep students at home for the remainder of the 2020 school year rather than risk sending our children into potentially hazardous and untenable learning environments,” the letter states.
Legis School Cancellation Letter to Gov (Text)
Data analysis of all 50 states by The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which is affiliated with the University of Washington, predicts that West Virginia will reach peak use of resources to cope with the virus in early May.
That model anticipates 16 coronavirus-related deaths per day in West Virginia at peak and 495 total deaths in West Virginia over the course of the outbreak.
The letter from legislative leaders also notes that the May primary election has been rescheduled to avoid potential public health risks of crowds gathering.
“The gathering of numerous children and adults in close proximity in a school setting for extended periods is equally risky, if not more so,” the legislative leaders wrote.
Justice today said the Primary Election is different because a decision needs to be made so far in advance.
“What about if toward the end of April things start looking much better? We have to make a decision today about extending an election,” Justice said. “We don’t have to make a decision today about closing school until the end of the year.”
Justice originally ordered schools be shut down from March 16 to 27. Last week, he announced that closure would be extended by another three weeks to April 20.
Then Wednesday, he added about two weeks to the end of the month, saying that would align with federal social distancing guidelines.
During the news briefing today, state schools Superintendent Clayton Burch said the education system doesn’t take the April 30 date lightly.
“In fact we have risen to the challenge,” Burch said.
Burch said he admires Justice’s optimism to get at least a few weeks of the school year in. “We want to save that time at the end that if you can see your friends, see your teacher,” Burch said.
The legislative leaders wrote that social distancing guidelines from the coronavirus pandemic has re-emphasized the need for West Virginia’s schools to deploy distanced-based learning tools and the ability to teach students via video feed and other technological channels.
“The critical need for reliable, world-class broadband service is a vital element of this educational methodology. We challenge ourselves and call upon all other state and local leaders to facilitate the rapid deployment and/or enhancement of technology infrastructure in the West Virginia public education system with the goal of delivering superior educational content in a distance learning environment,” the letter states.
Speaking Thursday morning on MetroNews’ “Talkline,” Burch said educators are getting better with practice at helping students while away from school buildings.
“You’re seeing a transition from distance instruction to distance engagement,” Burch said. “We know that to go four to six weeks of distance learning in an emergency crisis, some counties were more prepared than others.”
Under those conditions, Burch said, it’s unrealistic to think students will be mastering significant new content.
“The skills need to stay sharp, they need to stay engaged,” he said.
State School Superintendent Clayton Burch speaks with @HoppyKercheval about the continued closing of school until April 30. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/TAQU99MlRj
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) April 2, 2020