standpoint

Our children are our future

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The White House is now engaging in what can only be described as pure politics; the administration continues to spiral towards oblivion with a plan to kill thousands of children and educators in a futile attempt to win re-election.

This must not happen.

The great reopening, which places politics above public health, has resulted in infection and death rates that have allowed, in just that last 28 days, one million more infections and increased fatalities in states that have ignored the CDC and other public health experts—those states led by governors loyal to the President. Killers!

The asinine commentary coming out of the White House—with everyone from Peter Navarro to Larry Kudlow thinking that, once the children are back in school, the President can threaten every parent to get back to work or else—is beyond comprehension.

Cue in the single worst Secretary of Education in our nation’s history, Betsy DeVos. Her own personal agenda has assaulted every aspect of our public education system with no action plan and zero funding for the thousands of institutions that are considering the consequences of what a single outbreak could mean to their schools, their communities and the repercussions of such for the future of public education.

Placing our children, our educators and staff in a daily situation where anything can happen, like one single outbreak that could contaminate an entire school system and subsequently an entire community in days, is a crime against humanity—pure and simple. And all to satisfy the delusions of the single worst person to hold this nation’s highest office.

Every single building would become a HAZMAT situation for the custodial staffs throughout the nation. Who is going to pay for this and what happens when those whose tasks to maintain the infrastructure become ill and die? The President doesn’t care.

The White House is flirting with a catastrophe, one that will find children all over the nation infected and dying from a pandemic and the economy imploding like never before, taking this nation into a deep depression as parents will do what they must to protect their families.

We must push back.

Our nation’s governors can stop this insanity once and for all with support for dynamic remote learning programs facilitated by local school systems. The business community can invest in this unprecedented effort to continue the education of our youth by helping accelerate the infrastructure needed to ensure our youth can get the same education at home as sitting in a classroom, especially in our rural areas. Finally, Congress can pass bi-partisan emergency legislation to fund such with a level of support which is veto-proof from the White House to get directly to the states and school systems.

This Public-Private Partnership (P3) would be the foundation for a positive shift in how we can connect educators and students remotely with the technology and support. We must work to ensure public education in this nation is always available, maintains the highest standards and never compromises safety.

Ned Sader has more than two decades of public affairs experience working for corporate and nonprofits with a specialty in the development of public/private partnerships (P3). He has served on numerous regional boards and is a lifelong resident of Wayne County.

schools, Betsy Devos, Trump, coronavirus

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