Mass. schools face uphill battle on reopening guidelines, funding for the fall

Massachusetts schools are facing an uncertain and expensive uphill battle to reopen in the fall, education experts say, with official guidelines for classrooms still yet to be released.

“Superintendents right now are sort of working with a blindfold trying to figure out how they plan for next year until we have some concrete information coming from the state,” said Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

Last week, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued proposed new rules suggesting a limit of 10 students per classroom and putting the burden of purchasing and supplying personal protective equipment on parents and school districts.

A DESE spokeswoman confirmed those guidelines are intended to be used for summer school and to help districts prepare for the fall, but many stakeholders in education took it as a direct glimpse into fall protocols.

Jessica Tang, president of the Boston Teachers Union said, “Unfortunately, the state did not share this plan with the Boston Teachers Union or consult our educators before it was released to the public. Excluding the diverse perspectives and realities of those who will be most impacted by these guidelines is a missed opportunity.”

More guidance about the fall is expected from the state at the end of the month, but without those protocols or funding allocations from the state budget yet, schools face a lot of challenges in planning.

Beth Kontos, president of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, said, “Some of the concern is whether or not we can get our hands on the PPE in time and whether or not we are going to compete with each other on getting PPE.”

The current guidance issued last week says students and staff must wear face coverings; and an abundance of hand sanitizer and other cleaning products will be needed to maintain hand hygiene and safe facilities.

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said figuring out the logistics is “incredibly expensive” in a Wednesday interview on WGBH’s morning edition.

“Just the protective equipment that you have to have, the handwashing, the adjusting of sinks and desks and the ratios of our students that can be together, the cleaning supplies, all of that is quite expensive,” said Cassellius.

Working through the tension that exists between many school districts and municipalities will also provide a hurdle, said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

“School districts and the municipalities need to do a real assessment of all the federal, state and additional money that would be available to pay for this stuff.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3cYvccF