GOP Bill Aims to Force Schools to Reopen

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

My member of Congress, Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican representing Missouri's largely rural 8th district, is a forty-year-old bachelor lawyer who has no children.  The minor inconvenience of not having any children of his own, however, does not stop Congressman Smith from having a very rigid sense of what is best for children.  This week in his "Capital Report" which runs in area newspapers, the bachelor congressman focused his remarks on education.

The congressman talked about the idea of distance learning and noted that it is not as good as classroom instruction.  I agree.  He also talked about the sorry state of broadband connectivity throughout our region, and that also is beyond dispute - although Congressman Smith is in a position to promote changes in the nation's internet infrastructure.

The thrust of Congressman Smith’s weekly report was that he wanted to let his constituents know that he had “co-authored” a bill in Congress called the “Reopen Our Schools Act” to  “incentive (incentivize) school districts to provide in-person instruction in the fall by withholding federal support for school districts that fail to do so.”

Generally speaking, you “incentivize” by adding something to the mix, not taking money away.   An “incentive” to get schools to re-open might be extra money from the federal government to add classrooms (or trailers) and teachers to help with social distancing, or to provide extra funds to increase the number of school nurses and counselors that should be on hand to deal with the new reality of education during a pandemic – and to buy adequate stocks of face masks, digital thermometers, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and cleaning supplies to increase safety for students and school personnel.   

Taking money away from schools is not an incentive – it is a coercive action, and it would serve only to make a bad situation worse.   Most teachers and parents know that incentives are far more effective in achieving and maintaining desired results than are threats or coercion.

Congressman Smith justified his desire to see schools reopen in the fall by stating  “the evidence shows that it (reopening the schools) can be done safely,” and then he cited supposed success by some countries in Europe in reopening their schools.   That does not fit our situation, nor has enough time elapsed to prove the Congressman’s point anyway.  

We are not in Europe, and our experience in dealing with the pandemic has been markedly different from that of many other countries.  The infection “curve” has been flattened across much of Europe, but here in the United States the coronavirus is raging out of control – with 48 of 50 states reporting an increase in positive cases just this past week alone.   The danger posed by the coronavirus in our country is still on the rise.

Yes, children as a rule are at less risk of contracting COVID-19 through exposure to the coronavirus, but that does not mean they are immune.   Also, some school children have medical conditions that make them more susceptible to the disease. Children have died from COVID-19, and if this bill is passed and signed into law, even more children will get sick - and some of those will die.   It will happen.

Children are not the only people who will be put at risk by schools reopening prematurely.  Many adults work at schools:  teachers, aides, secretaries, bus drivers, nurses, counselors, cooks, custodians, administrators – and others.    Everyone at the school will be at greater risk of contracting the virus and the disease – and then so will everyone in the homes where those students and adults return each evening.

Schools have a very positive impact on their communities, but if we rush into reopening schools early, the unintended consequences could be devastating.

If Rep. Smith and his fellow congressmen want to get a serious handle on how the pandemic is impacting our schools, they need to get out and attend some school board meetings and listen to the concerns and fears of the people who function where the rubber hits the road.  Cutting school funding will only serve to make a difficult job that much harder, and it will not be in the best interests of the children or the communities.

Local school districts need to decide when it is safe to reopen, and they need to be able to make those life-and-death decisions without being strong-armed by the federal government.

COVID-19 is still with us.  We need to recognize that reality and act accordingly.   Anything less is unacceptable and puts lives at risk.

And shame on any legislators who want to take money away from schools or health care facilities during these very troubled times.  They might do well to send their moral compasses back to the factory for recalibrations!