4 PM UPDATE – County Warns Schools May Stay Closed This Fall – As Parents Vote, Malibu Schools Appear More Likely To Be Distance Learning This Fall – Trump And DeVos Threaten To Defund
Written by 991KBU on July 8, 2020
It looks more and more likely that Malibu schools will open with students at home … teachers on computers …. and COVID 19 preventing anything resembling traditional back to school.
That’s the conclusion of Santa Monica-Malibu school superintendent Ben Drati … at the end of a three hour video session for parents last night.
District parents will be making their opinions known … via a survey … on whether classes should resume in person.
And no matter what is decided by the school board … parents will be given the option of home schooling their kids via distance learning.
L.A. County health officials and the governor have warned … public assemblies may be again prohibited as the disease gets worse.
And the local signs are bad … and deteriorating … school superintendent Ben Drati said last night.
Early today … President Donald Trump had weighed in on the looming issue of reopening schools in America this fall.
NEWSCART 75711 TRUMP SCHOOLS
“So we’re very much going to put pressures on our schools to get them open.
“It’s very important for out country.
“It’s very important for out schools.”
And this morning the president’s Secretary of Education doubled down
Betsy DeVos.
NEWSCART 75712 DEVOS
“Ultimately it’s not a matter of if schools should reopen … it’s simply a matter of how.
“They must fully open.
“And they must be fully operational.”
That would be a breathtaking federal preemption of local control …
At midday … the White House announced that they had forced the CDC to walk back its guidelines for schools to reopen … after the president said they had sone too far in protecting the nation’s schoolchildren.
Schools are mostly funded by the states … controlled by local school boards … and run by the school superintendent.
Last night … Malibu school district officials spent three hours laying out the three different possible back to school alternatives for this fall.
Options include trying to resume classes.
Or splitting classes in half … and alternating school days for the students.
And Option C … continued distance learning.
Parents so far have overwhelmingly supported some sort of kids attendance at schools this fall.
The three hour session last night was a detailed explanation of the three main options.
Parents can fill out an inline survey … by Sunday.
The school board will meet next Thursday to try to make a decision based on those survey results.
Drati told parents that in the end …. no matter which option is decided on by parents or the schools … a fall semesters with kids at home is the backup contingency plan.
NEWSCART 75707 DRATI
“Given the fluidity of the situation … whatever we decide to choose can change in no time.
“So just to have to be ready to do distance learning only … just because… particularly in LA County…
“Things are very fluid.
“Right now the trend is not getting better … the trend is getting worse.”
Some major impacts … the preschool and child development after school classes offered at the schools will not be able to operate … if there is distance learning.
That means no child care for parents who work.
Even if schools are reopened … district child care officials say the number of kids served … and the fees will go up.
Susan Samarge Powell … last night…
NEWSCART 75706 SUSAN SAMARGE POWELL
“Our preschool programs intend to operate.
“There is a very strict guideline right now of no more than 10 students per classroom.
“So you can see in each of the models … we have a determination as to how we can do that.
“The biggest thing our families need to know is that we are going to have fewer students but we have to have the same amount of staff for safety purpose and to support the program.
“So the likelihood is that we are going to have to increase the fees.”
Again … parents are asked to give their opinions on an online survey .. at their school’s websites.
The entire 3-hour presentation can also be viewed … for parents to review options.
The survey will be tabulated Sunday and released early next week.
