Des Moines says no to governor's demand for classroom return

Sep 21, 20200

Olivia Sun – Associated Press count

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2020, file photo, Des Moines Public School students and supporters march from Roosevelt High School to the Governor's Mansion at Terrace Hill to protest the cancellation of fall and winter extracurriculars, in Des Moines, Iowa. All in-person activities were suspended this month as the district's classroom instruction remains virtual.

DES MOINES, Iowa - Students in Iowa's largest school system are facing the possibility that this most unusual school year could stretch into next summer, and the district could be hit with crippling bills because of a dispute with the governor over the safety of returning to classrooms during the coronavirus pandemic.

Des Moines school officials have repeatedly refused to abide by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds' order requiring the state's 327 school districts to hold at least half their classes in-person rather than online. For Des Moines, it's a question of trying to keep its more than 33,000 students and 5,000 staffers from contracting the disease. But after the school board last week again voted to violate Reynolds' order, the governor called the action "unacceptable" and began the process for punishing the district.

Reynolds has dismissed Des Moines' officials' concerns, noting that nearly all other Iowa districts have reopened their classrooms despite some virus outbreaks and the occasional need to quarantine students, saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way."

https://www.startribune.com/des-moines-says-no-to-governor-s-demand-for-classroom-return/572469511/