COLUMBIA, S.C. — For teachers, parents, and even business leaders, there remains one big question in South Carolina.
"When are we re-opening schools and what is the plan to make sure everyone is safe?" asks Kristi Schrader, parent of four children in South Carolina public schools.
These are a few of the questions on every parent's and educator's mind in South Carolina as Gov. Henry McMaster begins re-opening parts of the Palmetto State.
Nicole Walker is on the board for SC for ED, an advocacy group for South Carolina educators, and she believes there is a lot of concern.
"We have fairly large class sizes across our state," says Walker. "So, when you think about a classroom size, being able to figure out how to socially distance almost 30 kids is not mathematically possible."
Walker goes on to explain that the amount of cleaning that would have to been done would be astronomical. "Making sure a bus, a cafeteria and hallways and classrooms are sterile enough to make sure there's no type of spread, we just don't think that's something schools can do," says Walker.
Would any of this even be necessary through the end of the school year, or would e-learning continue? We took those question and others to the State Department of Education.
State Superintendent Molly Spearman said Monday that a decision will come by the end of this week. For what it's worth, she said a survey found the majority of school superintendents thought it's not a good idea to go back to school this year.
She also provided this statement:
"The health and well-being of South Carolina students, educators, and their families remains the highest priority for the South Carolina Department of Education and for our state’s leaders charged with navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. We anticipate a decision and announcement regarding school operations from the Governor very soon," said Spearman.
For SC for ED, they are hoping that decision comes sooner rather than later.
"We hope the governor makes an announcement this week and it can give teachers the ability to long term plan for e-learning," says Walker.