Georgia State House member Beth Moore invites students, faculty, and administrators to report anonymously unsafe conditions at schools that have reopened during COVID-19 cases continue to rise. One Georgia principal threatened “consequences” for those who shared images of the school, prompting Moore to create an email account for clock blockers.
North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia, faces nationwide criticism over viral photos showing students shoulder-to-shoulder in the hallway wearing less than half masks. The school first hung up two students who shared the photos, then reverse course and lifts the suspension. Nine students and staff members later tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the school temporarily one week after it reopens.
Twitter via AP
Before North Paulding High closed, its main character, Gabe Carmona, made an announcement to students, warning: “Anything that goes on social media, negative or even without permission, photography, that is video that is everything, will have consequences.”
Representative Moore tweeted on August 7 that she had set up a whistleblower account for “students, teachers and admins to share photos, videos and testimonies about unsafe conditions at school.”
“I will give you the anonymous coverage you need if you are threatened w / ‘consequences,'” she wrote.
Moore told CBS Atlanta branch WGCL that they set up the account “in direct response to what we saw coming from North Paulding … where a student was punished.”
“This is an attempt to ensure that if and when Georgia schools return to face-to-face instruction that we do so safely,” she said.
Less than a week after setting up the account, Moore says she received at least 650 complaints. The legislature shared some of the messages on Facebook, saying they came from teachers, staff and bus drivers who were “deeply concerned” about the opening of plans for the 141 public schools in Gwinnett County, a suburb north of Atlanta.
Moore told WGCL that once she receives an email, she verifies the information by retrieving the sender’s public records or requesting proof from an association for the school. According to Moore, one verified Gwinnett teacher wrote to the whistleblower account:
“I am a military veteran, a combat veteran who has served in Afghanistan. I made the career of switching to education because I deeply, strongly believe in the promise and need of public education, of brilliance and integrity of our youth. I did not register it as a martyr; if I had died at work, I would have remained in the army. “
And she says a verified Gwinnett bus driver wrote:
“The GCPS administration has informed us that at the end of August it is mandatory for all school bus drivers to transport students whether they have masks or not. We also have families, small children and underlying circumstances. In addition, there is a large population of GCPS school bus drivers are over the age of 60, and are at high risk. This is unacceptable for the GCPS administration to treat school bus drivers when we spend. “
All public employees whose stories were shared “asked to remain anonymous for fear of compensation from their employer,” according to Moore.
Gwinnett’s school district began “Wednesday-only instruction” on Moore, Moore said, “but requires faculty to report in person” and plans to stagnate August 26-26 from the return of students to campuses.
Another school in Georgia that reopened last week has already been told more than 900 students and staff members after quarantine for two weeks after dozens of COVID-19 tests returned positive. One high school in the Cherokee County School District has been temporarily shut down due to COVID cases, Superintendent Dr. Brian V. Hightower said in a message posted online.
According to the district, once a positive case is confirmed, traces of contacts are made, the parents of the students are notified, and classrooms will be thoroughly cleaned before reopening.
Wearing a face mask is not a requirement for Cherokee County students, but Hightower has encouraged everyone to wear it.
As of Friday, more than 4,500 people in Georgia have died from COVID-19, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The State Department of Public Health reported 83 new COVID deaths on Thursday, and 2,674 new cases.
The state reported its highest one-day death toll, 136, on Tuesday, followed by 109 deaths on Wednesday.
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