COLUMBIA, S.C. — Since the start of the pandemic, many teachers in the Midlands have quit due to COVID-19 concerns. Richland School District Two has lost 12 teachers for that reason alone. News19 spoke with one from Kelly Mill Middle School that wanted to remain anonymous.
"I felt like I had other people to consider not just me, but I have other people to consider in my house hold," the teacher said.
They didn’t want to risk getting the virus from school and infecting their family members, so they made the tough decision to resign.
"I love my students, so that was pretty difficult for me. I actually kind of sobbed at the end of that but I knew that I had to leave," they said.
The teacher said about six other teachers at Kelly Mill have also left for fear of exposure to the virus. Richland School District Two moved to phase two of reopening, their hybrid model, on November 4th.
"We weren’t given an option to stay home even though they mentioned accommodations, people were applying with serious terminal illnesses and they were denying it even against doctors’ wishes," they explained.
Richland Two responded saying, “making an accommodation may seem like a simple yes or no decision, but unfortunately it is not. Richland Two's decisions take into consideration each individual case while at the same time assess the impact that the totality of each decision will have on our ability to safely, efficiently and responsibly reopen our schools."
Their statement continued to say, "the Superintendent’s Office is currently reviewing requests using the latest guidance from the CDC regarding medical conditions that are at increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19.”
By November 10th, the district had received nearly 300 accommodation requests.
As of Monday night, Richland Two had a total of five coroanvirus cases in their district.
DHEC has rated Richland County’s coronavirus activity level as high. Like many South Carolina counties, Richland County is experiencing a recent spike in coronavirus cases.
"There’s a possibility that I won’t return even though I do enjoy it," said the anonymous teacher. "I love it. I love connecting with the students. I love writing curriculum but at this point… it's almost not worth it."
When teachers quit, their certifications could possibly be suspended for up to a year. This recently resigned Kelly Mill teacher is hoping that doesn’t happen to them or their colleagues.
Editor's note: This article previously stated that Richland School District Two only had two cases in their district as of Monday night, and has been corrected to “five cases”. As of Tuesday, the district has 10 reported cases.