What is the Martin County School System Re-Opening Plan?
At the moment, listening to the recent School Board meetings, there isn’t any. Yes, Superintendent Gaylord asserts that schools will open in August, but does not say whether there is to be a student sitting at a desk, or not. Meanwhile, FSU, U. of Florida, FAMU and U. of Miami, for starters, have all approved and are implementing very detailed, strict, no-nonsense yet creative plans for re-opening with students seated in classes. Their plans have to address the various complications of resident students and campus life, complexities absent from the Martin County situation.
To be clear, and judging by the length and feeling heard during discussion, the School Board has this as priority one. They are asking all the pertinent questions. They are pursuing information from all the county and private health sources. But in the meetings not one straw man plan has been proposed, let alone discussed.
The last meeting included a discussion of about an hour on the subject of masks. No one proposed a rule to be adopted and a senior member fretted over what the parents might say if masks were required.
The national news does not include the hope for any silver bullet solution before the beginning of the fall term, thus the applicable data is what it is ( the same data that was the background for the schools mentioned at the beginning of this note ). The School Board most certainly has the power to formulate and approve a plan. The by-laws of the Board read in part: “The School Board is responsible for the organization and control of the public schools of the District and is empowered to determine the policies necessary for the effective operation and the general improvement of the school system. The School Board is constituted by the State Constitution and Florida statutes.”
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