Is It Time For The Flint School District To Sell Their School Buildings?

Many school districts around the country and here in Michigan returned to online classroom instruction at the beginning of this school year.  Many more are considering it, some due to their County’s stance on contact tracing.  I was told by several board members of different Districts that this constant quarantining of students who may or may not have been close enough to a person who has tested positive for Covid-19 is not good for those children.  Some have been quarantined 4 to 6 times during the school year.

All of the schools that have gone back or are considering going back to online classroom instruction gave a date when they expected to get back to real in-classroom instruction.  That is all except the city of Flint Michigan.

The Flint School District Superintendent Kevelin Jones said the school district will only offer virtual online instructions for the foreseeable future.  In a statement Mr. Jones stated the following:

As you know, the safety and wellbeing of our scholars, families, teachers and staff remains our highest priority. By shifting to distance learning, we are mitigating the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to provide a continuity of learning to our scholars and focusing on their academic, social and emotional growth.  As you can imagine, the decision to move to distance learning does not come lightly, as we understand the burden that this can cause for our families.

He went on to say "every day, our scholars, families, teachers and staff are making a powerful and positive impact, both inside and outside the classroom".

How is that happening Mr. Jones from their bedroom, basement, kitchen table or office at their home?

He went on to state the following:

As always, I appreciate our entire school community for your continued dedication to learning – whether it’s distance or in-person. My goal is our success, and we will remain Flint-focused and look forward to working alongside you on behalf of the children of Flint as we renovate, re-build and re-energize our district.

I would assume it is tough to work “alongside you on behalf of the children in Flint” when your teachers and their students are locked up all cozy in their homes.  That is if the child has actually logged in to attend online virtual instruction.

He ended with “working alongside you on behalf of the children of Flint as we renovate, re-build and re-energize our district”.  If you are not going to use the buildings in your district to teach children then those buildings are no longer needed and should be sold.  Sold to perhaps Charter and private schools who are actually holding in classroom instruction.

That certainly would save the taxpayer a lot of cash.