© 2024 Central Florida Public Media. All Rights Reserved.
90.7 FM Orlando • 89.5 FM Ocala
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Now Is Not The Time To Reopen Schools, Teachers And Democrats Say

6005851922_d67ba962f6_z

Florida teachers and Democrats say it would be reckless to reopen schools now as the number of coronavirus cases in Florida surges. 

They spoke out Monday on a conference call with reporters as Vice President Mike Pence visited South Florida. 

The teachers and Democrats said the Trump and DeSantis administrations have left school leaders with -- as they put it -- impossible decisions over how to manage school reopenings. 

Among those on the call was Keegan Schlake, a high school teacher in Orlando. He says teachers want to get back in the classroom but are fearful.   

“In a typical year I see about 150 students cycle through my classroom door every day, and thousands shoulder-to-shoulder in the hallways. Schools are not designed for social distancing. My classroom physically cannot hold 25 students at a time, with all of them being six feet apart.” 

Vice President Mike Pence was in South Florida to mark the beginning of clinical trials at the University of Miami on a potential coronavirus vaccine. 

 

Amy Green covered the environment for WMFE until 2023. Her work included the 2020 podcast DRAINED.