Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Maryland Governor Stands Up for Private Schools

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by

James A. Bacon
in ,

by Kerry Dougherty

It was inevitable.

Once teachers’ unions and associations began using their muscle to lobby to keep public schools closed this fall it was likely that city and state officials – who often owe their jobs to militant teachers’ groups – might try to close private schools, too.

Think about the optics: Private school kids merrily heading to school every day while public school kids sat at home, isolated, eyes glazed, staring dully at computer screens.

Private schools around the country resolved to open while many public schools knuckled under to teachers who want to keep them closed.

Almost immediately a rash of news stories and editorials began to appear, reporting on educational “haves” and “have-nots,” essentially lamenting the fact that not all children would experience another semester of substandard virtual education.

Last week the Montgomery County, MD health officer made the first move to halt the reopening of private schools: He issued a blanket executive order ordering them closed in that toney Washington suburb until at least Oct. 1.

If public schools were shuttered, no kid in Montgomery County would get a decent education.

On Saturday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan — a Republican — Tweeted impotently about the situation:

There were thousands of replies, divided between people urging the governor to “do something about it” and those telling him to mind his own business.

It looked like Hogan might be trying to have it both ways: expressing sympathy for private and parochial school families while allowing their schools to be closed to in-person learning.

But yesterday afternoon Hogan issued an emergency order of his own. The governor overruled the county mandate, saying private and parochial schools could make their own plans.

Imagine that.

Predictably, Hogan’s taking a lot of heat for this decision from the shut-it-all-down-till-there’s-a-vaccine crowd.

Nevertheless, the Maryland governor did the right thing. He heeded the advice of the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics that says it’s imperative that children get back to school. And he’s leaving the final decision about sending kids back to class to the people who actually know what’s best for them:

Their parents.

This column was republished with permission from Kerry: Unemployed & Unedited.

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37 responses to “Maryland Governor Stands Up for Private Schools”

  1. Steve Haner Avatar
    Steve Haner

    Prediction: We’ll be having the same debate in 12 months, when the vaccines prove to be only partially effective, and when a large segment of the population is slow to take them, even if they can get them out to 330 million Americans in a matter of months (doubtful.) This virus will be part of our lives for years and years, perhaps permanently (like others). So, no in person school until 2025? Ever again? Zero risk is impossible to achieve.

    1. Eric the Half a Troll Avatar
      Eric the Half a Troll

      The “vaccine” is nothing but a manufactured October surprise by the Trump campaign. Of course it will be ineffective against the virus, but that is not the target. It remains to be seen if it will be effective against its actual target.

  2. Eric the Half a Troll Avatar
    Eric the Half a Troll

    “If public schools were shuttered, no kid in Montgomery County would get a decent education.”

    Your position is now that no kid can get a decent education from their kitchen table? Interesting that…?

    1. Steve Haner Avatar
      Steve Haner

      Damn few. Certainly not in the lower grades, troll person. And not without one parent present all day, meaning somebody stops working. What’s going to happen, of course (not that you actually care), is the rich folks will do fine (tutors, pods) while the poor folks will get screwed. But you Dem’s thrive on that….

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Is there no such thing as tutors for kids of parents who work?

        Why is it we are portraying this as no options for home schooling when we already have it for many including “networks” of homeschooling where parents take turns or tutors are hired?

        This is the problem with the critics – they really are not about solutions – they are, instead, focused on one thing as the only solution when that is just not the case.

        These folks claim that schools have opened in our countries – and they have and look at what happened:

        ” When Covid Subsided, Israel Reopened Its Schools. It Didn’t Go Well.

        Confident it had beaten the coronavirus and desperate to reboot a devastated economy, the Israeli government invited the entire student body back in late May.

        Within days, infections were reported at a Jerusalem high school, which quickly mushroomed into the largest outbreak in a single school in Israel, possibly the world.

        The virus rippled out to the students’ homes and then to other schools and neighborhoods, ultimately infecting hundreds of students, teachers and relatives.

        Other outbreaks forced hundreds of schools to close. Across the country, tens of thousands of students and teachers were quarantined.”

        https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/world/middleeast/coronavirus-israel-schools-reopen.html

        Science said this would happen but again – the critics don’t believe the science.

        1. cjbova Avatar
          cjbova

          “…ultimately infecting hundreds of students, teachers and relatives.” 200 cases and 244 positive tests across all schools said NPR. Not quite what the quote you used implied.

          NPR left enough for you to believe Larry? And 130 cases is hardly the largest outbreak in the world. Maybe in a school in May, since many were closed, but the NYT isn’t known for subtlety when it’s into fear mongering.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I have no clue what you’re quoting Carol… how about a link?

            If you don’t like NYT, how about WSJ?

            The surge followed outbreaks in schools that by Monday had infected at least 1,335 students and 691 staff since the schools reopened in early May, according to the education ministry.

            Epidemiological surveys by Israel’s health ministry showed that after Israel opened its entire school system without restrictions on May 17, a spike in infections occurred among the country’s youth that later spread to the general population. Government figures also showed that in the month of June schools were the second-highest known place of infection outside people’s own communities.

            https://www.wsj.com/articles/israelis-fear-schools-reopened-too-soon-as-covid-19-cases-climb-11594760001

          2. cjbova Avatar
            cjbova

            https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/03/868507524/israel-orders-schools-to-close-when-covid-19-cases-are-discovered

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            what exactly is your point Carol?

            did you see the dates on the NPR article versus the NYT and WSJ articles?

      2. Eric the Half a Troll Avatar
        Eric the Half a Troll

        Rich folks? You realize you are commenting on a thread about people complaining that their kid’s private school might be shut down for public health reasons, don’t you?

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Rich folks can and do afford tutors and nannies for their kids, no?

  3. djrippert Avatar
    djrippert

    Just a matter of time before this issue is raised in Virginia, probably starting in Arlington or Fairfax Counties. I would not be surprised to see a General Assembly proposal to standardize all schools in any given jurisdiction regarding virtual vs in-person learning. We’ll see if that happens. If it does, will Virginia make the same mistake as Montgomery County and declare the matter a health issue? That will open the debate on the Academy of Pediatrics and whether or not individual schools can, in some cases, meet the CDC guidelines. Or, will it be declared an “equity” issue that does not pertain to doctors, science or the CDC?

    Everybody should realize that if some private schools are allowed to open and do so … the issue will still be in doubt. A quick review of the Major League Baseball season to date proves that even wealthy operations still have people contracting the virus with games being postponed for a quarantine. What will happen in the private schools when the inevitable first outbreak happens?

  4. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Important to recognize that it’s a Public Health Officer that is saying that it’s not safe to open schools – public or private and that he is being overruled which pretty much describes how things have been proceeding all along – i.e. disbelief of science and demands that no matter what the science is saying that it’s wrong and we need to ignore it.

    So – did Hogan also issue immunity to the private schools if teachers or kids or kids parents get infected? Will there be lawsuits against the school if there is infection?

    oh wait, that’s exactly what the GOP is working on – immunity!

    1. djrippert Avatar
      djrippert

      Once again your arguments come from some fantasy land. The same fantasy land that regularly has liberals “science shopping” for whatever theory meets their woke whims. A single unelected bureaucrat in Montgomery County determined that both the CDC guidelines and the position of the Academy of Pediatrics can be ignored. Rather than simply asking to see the plans for private schools in the county which believe they can meet the CDC guidelines for reopening he banned all private schools from reopening.

      “… no matter what the science is saying …”. Typical liberal twaddle. The CDC published guidelines for reopening K-12 schools but somehow this isn’t “science” in the politicized world of the left. When the federal government leaves the matter to the states then Trump is incompetent. When the federal government issues guidelines to follow then it isn’t “science”.

      The politicization of COVID-19 from the left is disgraceful.

    2. Steve Haner Avatar
      Steve Haner

      What is the American Academy of Pediatrics, Larry, chopped liver? The medical advice to send kids back to school, with mitigation, is overwhelming.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Steve – they made a political statement not a public health one.

        And they said that kids in school is better than widespread infection… right?

  5. James Wyatt Whitehead V Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead V

    Well I have been retired from a 27 year history teaching career in Loudoun County for a grand total of 56 days. So much for retirement. Starting tomorrow I will be back at the black board teaching history 5 days a week in person instruction at Randolph Macon Academy. I will let the Rebellion know how things are going at the front lines of 5 day a week instruction. Getting some custom masks made since they are required at all times on the job.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Congrats to you James – and you will have a perspective that ought to be pretty interesting if you end up with time enough to share with us.

    2. TooManyTaxes Avatar
      TooManyTaxes

      My wife’s niece’s children live in suburban Indianapolis. Parents and students were given the choice of all online schooling or attending class two days a week, by last names, with the rest online for the fall session that begins this month. Both their parents have advanced degrees in Pharmacy; indeed, our niece is a full professor of pharmacy at Purdue.

      The kids chose to go to school two days per week. Their parents agreed.

      I’d have more sympathy for Fairfax County schools had they not botched the distance learning startup this spring. Remember that FCPS operated its own online system with lots of staff employees but neglected to update its software for three years. Also, diminishing my sympathy is the fact that the County is opening SACC centers in schools.

    3. James A. Bacon Avatar
      James A. Bacon

      Good luck. We eagerly await your reports from the front lines.

      1. James Wyatt Whitehead V Avatar
        James Wyatt Whitehead V

        RMA’s enrollment shot up to max capacity for COVID enrollment. They needed a teacher in a snap so I answered the call. I thought for sure I was done too. Ironically on the same day as the RMA interview I had a terrific job offer as a warehouse manager that paid top dollar. I turned it down. 17 50 gallon trash cans of teacher materials dumped on my last day in June. Oh well back to the drawing board. I am hopeful the school on the hill top in Front Royal can demonstrate in person education can be done.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Normally is said to have an enrollment of about 1600 and they have dorms for boarding school.

  6. mbd Avatar
    mbd

    That’s a deliberate misreading of what Hogan’s order does. The Montgomery County PHO can still shut down any private school – he just has to do so on a case-by-case basis. Guidance exists on what schools need to do to have reasonable assurance that they can operate in a safe manner. The problem for the big public school systems is that they lack the logistical/organizational capacity to make this happen across all their schools in the face of organized resistance from teachers’ lobbies. Private schools may or may not be similarly challenged, but they should be judged on the capacity they have and the mitigation plans they can execute; not just simply be thrown under the bus in the name of equity.

    With respect to immunity, the GOP isn’t working very hard. But they need to. We’re in an economic depression. Whether it becomes a Great Depression will depend in part on policy choices. Bad policy – e.g. wage, price, and production controls – extended the Great Depression by years. Bad choices now – whether it’s feeding the trial lawyers or charging extra for the same electrons to power our homes and economy for undetectable benefit to the environment – could extend this one.

    1. djrippert Avatar
      djrippert

      Exactly right. I’ve seen the details of one private school’s reopening plan and those details seem to be in compliance with CDC guidelines. If the so-called health officer in Montgomery County disagrees then he should make his case.

      What I find odd is that no public school in Arlington, Fairfax or Montgomery County thinks it can meet the CDC guidelines. Or, they are not even looking at the matter. Some schools are under populated based on the changing demographics of the area from which the school draws. Rebalancing is an ongoing effort, especially in Fairfax County. Some schools have a lot of parents who would elect full time virtual learning. In combination I am sure there are public schools that could meet the CDC guidelines and open for in-person learning on at least a part time basis.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        This is because the CDC “guidelines” are crap.

        https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-testing.html

        If you have not read them, please take a moment and do and then ask yourself how a public or private school can implement those guidelines.

        If the Federal govt REALLY wanted to support re-open schools – they would step up and provide the financial and logistical means to do it and they are not.

        For instance, they opine about “testing” – go read what they say and what can schools do about testing?

        Where is the Federal money and testing/PPE supplies for this?

        1. djrippert Avatar
          djrippert

          Ohhhh … but what about the “science”? CDC doesn’t count as “science” when they go against the teachers’ unions I guess.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            CDC is “science” as believed by the Trump administration.

            Got it? Should we believe Trump and the agencies he controls with respect to COVID19 when he openly disagrees with them and orders them to do what he wants or get fired?

  7. djrippert Avatar
    djrippert

    Following guidelines supermarkets are open. There could be a mandate for contactless curbside pick-up but there isn’t. Following guidelines barber shops are open. Barbers spend all day seeing customer after customer. Following guidelines restaurants are open. Waiters and waitresses spend all day serving customers. Following guidelines “bars” (such that they exist in Virginia) are open. Following guidelines ABC stores never closed.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      It’s how many people you come into contact with for how long and especially in congregate settings.

      did you see this:

      When Covid Subsided, Israel Reopened Its Schools. It Didn’t Go Well.

      Within days, infections were reported at a Jerusalem high school, which quickly mushroomed into the largest outbreak in a single school in Israel, possibly the world.

      The virus rippled out to the students’ homes and then to other schools and neighborhoods, ultimately infecting hundreds of students, teachers and relatives.

      Other outbreaks forced hundreds of schools to close. Across the country, tens of thousands of students and teachers were quarantined.

      is that report false?

  8. TBill Avatar
    TBill

    If we are incredibly lucky there could be a vaccine in 2021.
    However, most likely we are talking 2022 availability and it will not be a panacea. Some public schools eg Pittsburgh suburbs are going back to school full time, so it will interesting to see how that works out for them. We should learn a lot more by January. Meanwhile, Hogan for President please oh please.

  9. djrippert Avatar
    djrippert

    Given that the presidential election is fewer than 100 days away … where is Biden on the question of school reopening? Even NPR can’t seem to get to whether Biden thinks schools should reopen or not. He wants to spend another $30B so he punches his liberal free spending card but he never gets very clear on guidelines, what “local empowerment” really means, etc. Maybe NPR interviewed him before he had a chance to take his afternoon nap.

    Biggest
    Imbecile
    Democrats
    Ever
    Nominated

    https://www.npr.org/2020/07/17/892334856/biden-releases-proposal-for-reopening-schools

    1. Matt Hurt Avatar
      Matt Hurt

      This presidential election is different from all before. He who remains the quietest is most likely to win.

  10. TomW Avatar
    TomW

    I agree with Hogan on this one. It may also put additional pressure on public schools to return sooner. As the father of a dyslexic kid, I have to say that the decision to keep schools closed is very harmful, especially to learning and socioeconomically challenged kids. If this continues, we are going to have big problems with kids falling behind academically and there will be many many who will never catch up. Teachers who are concerned about their own health safety also go to the grocery store where employees have been on the front line since the beginning. Is the grocery store more important than our kids’ education? I guess the teachers’ union thinks so.

  11. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    How long in grocery stores are people in close proximity to each other as opposed to the time a teacher would spend in a classroom with a group of kids? Is that an apples to apples?

    Let’s say for the sake of argument – because we’re going to find out anyhow – but let’s say it turns out that teachers and kids – and their parents see big infection rates – like they did see in Israel.

    (from WSJ July 14 : ” Some Israeli public-health officials are blaming the country’s decision to reopen schools in May for helping fuel a large new wave of coronavirus infections that has prompted authorities to shut down sections of the economy once again.

    In recent weeks, the number of new cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has risen to around 1,500 per day nationwide from a low of fewer than 50 a day about two months ago.The surge followed outbreaks in schools that by Monday had infected at least 1,335 students and 691 staff since the schools reopened in early May, according to the education ministry.

    Epidemiological surveys by Israel’s health ministry showed that after Israel opened its entire school system without restrictions on May 17, a spike in infections occurred among the country’s youth that later spread to the general population. Government figures also showed that in the month of June schools were the second-highest known place of infection outside people’s own communities.

    What would happen then? Would we still stay that schools should continue anyhow because if they don’t kids will be harmed?

    It seems to me we really don’t know – but we’re in favor of teachers taking the risk.

    We’re going to get the answer as some schools are going to open for in-person but again what happens if it results in infection? what then?

  12. TomW Avatar
    TomW

    No, I get your point LarrytheG. There are a lot of questions to be answered and many unknowns. I remember all of the analysis and debate for months and months around opening grocery stores, bars, beaches, allowing protests (which somehow caused no spread whatsoever) and Walmart and it was only after we were absolutely certain there would be no risk of infection to cashiers from customers 2 feet away (usually unmasked) breathing and coughing on them that we decided it was ok. So, we need to go through the same rigorous process for school openings before kids can learn from professional educators how to read and write.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Thought I would add this: ” a close contact is defined as any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes

      https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/contact-tracing/contact-tracing-plan/appendix.html#contact

      and here is the CDC Operational Considerations for Schools

      it’s quite lengthy – and unclear to me where they get the staff to do all of it:

      H T T P cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/global-covid-19/schools.html

  13. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    We agree. The Schools are going to re-open in various ways and we’re going to find out what happens, and we go from there.

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