After a delay, Flint Community Schools will return to in-person learning next week.
The district’s planned return to the classroom was postponed three weeks ago because there were not enough sneeze guards for all the student desks. District officials insist they have enough now.
School Board President Carol MacIntosh insists they want students to learn and go home healthy.
“I would like to be able to look any parent or community member in the face and say ‘Look we went the extra mile because we are serious about our students’ safety,” says MacIntosh.
The final vote to authorize the return to the classroom was 5 to 1.
School Board member Laura MacIntyre voted against the plan. She says teachers and parents she’s talked to have concerns about in-person instruction and whether the district is really prepared for students and teachers to be back in the classroom.
“I don’t understand the rush...the urgency,” says MacIntyre. “This just isn’t good science.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines for in-person learning during the pandemic.
Starting Monday in Flint, kindergarten through 3rd grade students will begin coming in school a couple days a week.
Students in 4th through 12th grade are scheduled to return a week later.
