Mike Parker: Cooper, legislature strike deal on school opening

The Republican-led legislature passed Senate Bill 37 mandating that all schools from grades K-12 must provide an option for in-person instruction. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the bill, claiming the legislation threatened the health and safety of students just when the pandemic seemed to be waning.

“Students learn best in the classroom and I have strongly urged all schools to open safely to in-person instruction and the vast majority of local school systems have done just that,” the governor wrote in his veto message.

“However, Senate Bill 37 falls short in two critical areas. First, it allows students in middle and high school to go back into the classroom in violation of NC Department of Health and Human Services and CDC health guidelines. Second, it hinders local and state officials from protecting students and teachers during an emergency.”

“As I have informed the Legislature, I would sign the bill if these two problems are fixed.

“As written, the bill threatens public health just as North Carolina strives to emerge from the pandemic. Therefore, I veto the bill.”

The NC House passed SB 37 on Feb. 17 with a vote of 77-42. The governor’s veto came on Feb. 26, just one day before the bill would have gone into effect.

On Wednesday, March 10, the governor and members of the NC General Assembly announced they had reached a compromise that turned most authority for school opening decisions over to local boards of education. The compromise was wise. Local boards are far more capable of determining the needs of the students in North Carolina’s 115 school districts than a one-size-fits-all, top down attempt to manage all the schools of this state.

Let’s think about the State of North Carolina for just a second. North Carolina spreads more than 500 miles from east to west, and reaches roughly 184 miles from north to south at its deepest point. North Carolina comprises nearly 54,000 square miles of territory, the size of the nation of Norway.

One of the things that people most love about this state is its variety. We divide our state into the Mountains, the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain. Some parts of this state are mainly rural while others are heavily urban.

I cite these facts to make a point: a one-size-fits-all approach to the reopening of schools is the wrong approach. While I certainly believe the vast majority of school children fare better in face-to-face classroom settings, the decision of how and when to reopen in-person should be left to local boards of education and local health departments. The problems that Lenoir County faces are far different from the problems of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County school district.

No one who has any insight into what has been going on with students during the pandemic can argue against getting young people back into school as soon as safely possible. The evidence sponsors of SB 37 cite for justifying the act is compelling. Students are displaying higher incidents of mental health issues. School systems across the state have seen high failure rates among high school and middle school students.

Although other factors also enter into the discussion, mental health and school success are two of the most sobering facts arguing for in-person learning.

The compromise announced Wednesday means most students could be back in public school classrooms 21 days after the bill is signed into law. Their return would come after students and teachers have endured a year of remote-only or hybrid instruction. For families who still feel comfortable with remote-only learning, the bill requires local school systems to continue offering that option.

This piece of legislation has one additional benefit: The bill demonstrates that both sides can come together to do what is in the best interest of our students. After years of acrimony and deep divides, seeing our legislators and governor working together is a pleasant change from what has been the status quo.

I hope everyone involved learned valuable lessons during this process that will carry over as our leaders face other problems confronting our state.

Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker@gmail.com .