Gov. McMaster should take notes: Spearman is showing the way on reopening SC schools
As South Carolina continues to navigate the uncertain new normal brought about by COVID-19, one thing has become striking:
Too often, it appears that you must go around Gov. Henry McMaster to get anything meaningful done in the fight against COVID-19 in this state.
The obvious example, of course, is how Columbia, Charleston, Greenville and numerous other communities alarmed by South Carolina’s soaring rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths have acted on their own to pass face mask laws to protect their citizens — and maneuvered around McMaster’s refusal to implement a statewide face mask requirement.
And now there’s a second inspiring example: state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman’s work to prevent McMaster from holding up progress in reopening South Carolina’s schools this fall.
Spearman has been open-minded in reviewing the fall reopening plans submitted by school districts — yet she’s also left no doubt that she won’t compromise the safety of school children across South Carolina once they return to classrooms.
In both cases, Spearman’s sense of forward thinking has been a far cry from what McMaster has managed to convey in his recent public comments on reopening the state’s schools.
And once again, South Carolinians may benefit from the willingness of some decision makers in this state to choose “zigging” in purposeful fashion over following the governor’s aimless “zagging.”
Wise approach
Recently Spearman’s office announced that the education superintendent had approved reopening plans that had been submitted by six school districts across South Carolina.
Two of the school districts — one in Clover and another in Spartanburg — plan to have elementary students in classrooms five days a week under “enhanced safety protocols” and other measures designed to limit potential exposure to COVID-19.
The other four districts, meanwhile, were approved for plans that would combine accessibility to in-person instruction with various forms of virtual or distance learning for children whose parents aren’t ready to return their kids to classrooms.
In short, Spearman has given school systems the flexibility to come up with their own gameplans for reopening — and shown a welcome willingness to give green-light those proposals if they are credible and feasible.
What a refreshing contrast that is to McMaster’s recent tone-deaf remarks in which he impatiently called for all school districts to prepare to provide daily face-to-face learning after Labor Day — and appeared to dismiss fears among educators and parents about having kids back in the classrooms amid COVID-19.
Face masks required
In addition to approving the six school plans, however, Spearman also declared that all public schools in South Carolina must require their K-12 students to wear face masks on school buses.
In short, Spearman has left no doubt that school districts must respect the science that clearly shows that wearing face masks helps stop the spread of COVID-19 — and that any other policy is a non-starter if they want to reopen this fall.
What a refreshing contrast that is to McMaster’s ongoing litany of tortured excuses for not putting a statewide face mask policy in place, even as the number of COVID-19 cases marches toward the 90.000 mark and deaths continue to mount.
It’s unfortunate that on so many occasions during our state’s fight against COVID-19, making headway in getting from “Point A” to “Point B” hasn’t come by moving in a simple straight line; rather, it has come only after taking a circuitous route around a governor whose words and actions frequently block paths instead of clear them.
Let’s hope that Spearman’s decisive, encouraging moves to reopen South Carolina’s schools will spur McMaster to promptly grab a No. 2 pencil and an 8x10 notebook — and to start taking some copious notes.
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Gov. McMaster should take notes: Spearman is showing the way on reopening SC schools."