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State Superintendent: If Funding Is Cut, California Schools ‘Cannot Reopen Safely’
Several of California’s largest school systems — including Los Angeles Unified and Long Beach Unified — have warned that they would have a tough time reopening campuses this fall if they’re forced to absorb the funding cuts Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed last week.
Today, state superintendent Tony Thurmond agreed with them:
"It’s very important for us to receive more federal funding in order to offset those cuts because we believe that our school districts cannot reopen safely if they have to implement these kinds of cuts. It’s simply just a fact that … we’re going to have unavoidable expenses that schools will need to be able to account for in order to ensure that our schools open safely."
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Whenever campuses reopen, Thurmond said it’s “widely believed” students and staff will have to wear masks, campuses will have to be cleaned more often, and class sizes will have to be smaller — all of which will cost money.
- LAUSD Warns Budget Cuts Plus Coronavirus Might Make Reopening Campuses Hard
- Six urban California districts say proposed budget cuts will set back restarting school (EdSource)
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