President Trump called the Los Angeles schools’ decision not to reopen campuses next month a “mistake” during a CBS News interview on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Austin Beutner announced Monday that the nation’s second largest school system will continue online learning until further notice due to the worsening of the Los Angeles coronavirus outbreak.
An increasing number of school districts, including those in San Diego and Long Beach and some in Northern California, are following suit. Long Beach Unified announced Tuesday that it “will remain fully online, at least until October 5.”
Trump has been pressing schools and universities to reopen despite concerns by some health officials that it is not safe to do so.
When asked during the CBS interview to explain his criticism of Beutner’s decision, the president added: “I would tell parents and teachers to find a new person, who is in charge of that decision.”
School systems across the country have had to balance the need to reduce health risks with the importance of returning students to classrooms, where experts say they learn more effectively while allowing their parents to resume a More routine work hours, helping to drive an economy state in deep recession.
Beutner said Monday that LAUSD could not come close to protecting the health and safety of approximately half a million K-12 students and 75,000 employees.
“Let me be crystal clear,” Beutner said in an interview with The Times. “We all know that the best place for students to learn is in a school setting.” But, he said, “we’re going in the wrong direction. And as much as we want to go back to schools and as students go back to schools, we can’t do it until it’s safe and appropriate.”
The superintendent made a specific call to county, state, and federal officials to provide leadership and funding for coronavirus test and pinpointing and those school districts need clearer guidance on when and how to reopen.
At the same time, Beutner refused to enter into a war of words with Trump.
Beutner has tried to develop a communication channel in the administration as part of the district’s lobbying efforts. He personally meets Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, whose family foundation has contributed $ 75,000 in the past two years to Vision To Learn, the nonprofit organization Beutner founded before becoming superintendent. The organization offers free glasses to low-income students. DeVos has supported the work of the national charity in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his home state.
Shortly after the campuses closed in mid-March, Beutner called DeVos, asking for help in getting federal reimbursement for the distribution of Los Angeles Unified meals to needy households, regardless of whether they were helping adults or students.
So far, Beutner’s efforts to secure full funding for food distribution have made little progress, either from federal, state or local sources, Beutner said in an interview with The Times on Sunday.
When it comes to reopening, DeVos has sided with Trump, urging schools to return to normal hours.
Both Governor Gavin Newsom and State Supt. Instructional Officer Tony Thurmond praised Beutner on Monday.
“I think he made a great decision,” Thurmond said. “Los Angeles County has a lot of cases. They took that into consideration, and I think they made a decision that is in the best interest of protecting their students. ”
“It is a decision that, if conditions change, they can always walk away,” he added.
