As the Donald Trump and Greg Abbott administrations push for the face-to-face instruction in schools, the Brownsville Independent School District finds itself having had to close seven campuses and several departments in the district even before students get there.
The board approved an amended 2020-2021 instructional calendar school year delaying the start of school to August 25 with the last day of school on June 10, 2021.
Gov. Greg Abbott has advocated the face-to-face opening of schools that includes a contingency "plan" to shut down a school only once a child tests positive for the virus. That plan contemplates the withholding of funds to school districts that don't comply.
The dilemma fis acing the BISD school board and administration and comes as the school year approaches. The district has already been forced to suspend the distribution of meals to hungry families July 16 following the reported deaths from the virus of two Food and Nutrition Service employees. No one knows where they caught the virus, but the district suspended the distribution out of an abundance of caution.
Although no mention of the death of the FNS employees was made in the notice to stop the distribution, sources in the district assert that was the reason.
"The danger was for the workers to spread the virus to the people picking up the food and then them taking it home," said a worker on condition of anonymity. "After they heard of the death of the two workers, they didn't feel safe working at the department."
"The bottom line is tat they could have though of a way to get the meals to these hungry kids instead of just shutting it down," one said.
As far as infected campuses that have been closed due to COVID-19 infection, reports from inside the district indicate there have been seven, the first being Garcia Middle School and then the others.
Since July 1, the BISD administration has closed Manzano and Stillman Middle schools, and Veterans, Hanna, and Rivera high schools for a week until the campuses were sanitized and personnel allowed to return.
"This is just the staff and maintenance people," they said. "Imagine what it would be like if you had a school full of students."
Since the July 15 meeting when the new school year was approved, the district has also been forced on July 20 to close – aside from the FNS meals distribution – the BISD Purchasing, Special Services and Curriculum departments because of the detection of positive COVID-19 cases.
The BISD announced on July 15 that it was "requesting an order from the Cameron County Judge and the Mayor of Brownsville and their Commissioners Court that all BISD schools remain closed for on-campus, face-to-face instruction for all school age students until further notice and that it is safe for students, faculty, and staff to return."
“Due to the increased community spread, we feel that there will be a greatly enhanced risk of parent, student, and employee illness during the COVID-19 pandemic, arising from the current levels of contagion within Cameron County and the City of Brownsville,” said BISD Superintendent Dr. René Gutiérrez.
The state and national governments are putting the BISD board under the gun to start face-to-face school by August 25 despite the apparent danger to students, school personnel and local families of the community where they live. Abbot said in an interview with Channel 5 that the schools will open and if a teacher or student comes down with the virus the school will close, they will quarantine, distance learning will kick in, the school will be sanitized, and classes will resume.
And despite the requests of local elected officials like State Rep. Alex Dominguez to the Texas Commissioner of Education to allow local districts to determine when it is safe to start face-to-face instruction for themselves, it seems Abbott seems determined to send the students as canaries into the poisoned coal mine to please Donald Trump as he tries to manipulate the disease for his political profit.
Hopefully, the board will hold their ground and place the safety of the children, its employees, and the community as their main priority.
24 comments:
What does our so-called superintendent have to say about this?
What about the school board? Bola de mensos, estupidos!
Again, you only offer speculation. GO INTERVIEW THOSE PEOPLE!!!!
At 30k a month this idiot should have thought of something but remember he stopped thousands of children from being in the children's charro days parade pinche estupido
FIRE THIS ASSH&* AND ESCORT HIM TO THE CITY LIMITS AND DON'T COME BACK HERE GUEY
Where's my second check
Mr. Montoya, I appreciate you for keeping us informed about the school closures but I hate to inform you that Rivera is still open. See with your own eyes, it only takes a drive thru 802 or vermillion rd and you will see both parking lots half full of cars.
We need MEALS ON WHEELS for everyone,
Not just kids.
Older citizens living alone and secluded.
All those cars picking up free groceries could be asked to take an extra bag of food to an elderly person who is unable to drive to pick up their own food.
Also maybe neighbors are already helping.
I hope you all stay safe.
We all have to accept that at some point staff and students and going to die, there's no point arguing that. The virus needs to take it's course. People in the community are dying already.
Everyine getting food stamps
We donr need meals on anything
All students were give the opportunity for their parents to apply for a 1 time $284 stipend even if they already have lone star
That buys alot of beans and tortillas
To get any kid thru summer
Montoya is a Mexican. Brownsville needs a good White reporter, not El Paya Jerry however!
I thought the Governor and TEA had amended their policy to allow flexibility and for local districts to remain closed as needed?
Does anyone know the answer?
Close the campuses for the year! What wrong would it do except that the parents are going to have to prepare their meals at home and provide for the day care. A child that wants to learn will learn at his own pace and with his own method. Some of them are more intelligent than some of us and they only need to be directed in the right way. A classroom does not make a learning station. The expectations for those kids from their parents are what is going to make it for the kids. As for the teachers, they would have to seek other employment (which some already do) and not depend on the small teaching stipend that they get. If they stay at home they would save on child care and could apply for food stamps. One year vacation for the children who are constantly being tested would give them a respid and they would come back con ganas to learn and make up for the year lost.
The nex year they can extend the school hours and do 2 years in on year just like the dual enrollment courses. Let the highly paid superintendent and his two assistants figure that out;
I wish that people would get all their facts straight. Read all material actually watch board meetings with the intent of finding out all the information and not just to pick and choose what they want to hear and exploit it. It is offensive that our AOBE President and Ida whatever her name is...do not actually listen to give complete information. Self-righteousness can only get your so far. Teachers will get to start with online learning. Teachers will get to choose whether they teach from home or school. The PPE that the district purchased is for COVID kits once the teachers go back to work. Each teachers will get a kit. The PPE that was sent by TEA just arrived literally!!! Of course it needs to be distributed. I dislike it when people exploit the fears of the masses for their own personal gain (Erasmo, Carlos,Frankie). I get it...this board sucks, I completely agree ! The Super is overpaid (like really dude!). I actually like the deputies. BUT it doesn't matter what they do it is going to be wrong, too late, too little, and not enough...But exploiting is wrong too!!
I feel for our teachers, our staff, & our community. These are difficult times all around...
Most health experts agree that schools should reopen. It is the Democrats who are playing politics.
Republicans using children a pawns just to get this idiot elected again, and the moron hillybillys quickly approve. No shame
Meals on Wheels are left overs from the military and stock piles of canned food.
The Board has poor leadership right now. Minerva Pena only caters to a few friends like Ms. Longoria, and some of the laziest employees in the Admin Building. Minerva is so unethical, having lunch with Ms. Longoria before she got AA. Minerva, there is 7,000 employees that want to get favors from you, like PPE to save their lives. To Minerva its still a hoax and can't let the Superintendent do his job, she is the one delaying everything. A big-time micromanager. Let the $30k a month guy do his job.
Minerva still thinks she is the captain of the Porter Belle and can manipulate everyone like she did back when we were in the Porter Belles. Since our director was so lazy she allowed and gave Minerva the reigns and it continued when she finally got a job with DPS. She thought she was the queen of all the idiots, since she was the first woman to serve as a DPS trooper. Everyone hated her guts then and as far as I can see and witness, they still do, including me who took so much from her during our high school years. Who does she think she is and she lies with all her fables that her father supposedly taught her when she was growing up in the Southmost area. I guess her father took her to confession often and she needs to keep doing that. The only one that she is afraid off is SPA and so she is still being controlled by that idiot. Salte Minerva! Ya vales nada!
$30k a month NO SHAME people here make 17 to 24k "A YEAR" and this idiota makes 30k A MONTH for what to stop children to be on the charro days parade pinche pendejo
ESCORT THE GUEY TO THE CITY LIMITS AND KICK HIS ASS OUT OF "TOWN FOREVER" AND DON'T COME BACK
I guess only certain personnel matter because some classified are still working and there is no safety for them. They use the excuse that there is no students and distancing but the staff that got infected and the ones that died there were no students around and they still got sick.
The FNS does not have catered meals. They are prepared and packaged by the FNS employees and also distributed by them. Office and Warehouse is still open Full time with all employees there. There have been several positives there too but It NEVER closed. Administrator will never close Unless forced to. I’m sure it’s the same for most departments.
Porter Belle please enlighten US.
The whole world is opening schools safely but us a can t do it. Kids are more in danger of dying from flu than corona. 99.9 of cases are above 18 years old. Start reading some facts and science and stop passing your paranoia and fears on your kids
Bull sit school are NOT opening so seas un mamon pendejo racist republican baboso
If the indigenous people of North America were one United entity like the Aztecs or the Incas all this phony baloney about stolen lands might hold water but they were killing each othe, taking slaves and stealing lands long before even Canada De Vaca showed up so save yourself further embarrassment and either read up on history or stop with the all loca en la cabeza habla.
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