Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MARCH 10-16, 2021 UCW 11 e N.C. State Board of Education passed a reso- lution March 4, calling on all public school districts to give parents the option of in-person learning by the end of March. e education board's action is the latest step in a growing consensus to swiftly reopen school classrooms across the state. e resolution also included the endorsement of new guidance from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services that allow K-5 schools to operate under "Plan A" — requiring minimal social distancing — while middle and high schools operate under "Plan B" — requiring six feet of social distancing. During the Board of Education meeting, DHHS officials noted the risks of COVID-19 spread are low for elementary-school children. But Susan Gale Perry, chief deputy secretary for DHHS, said that her department did not feel comfortable making the full recommendation for "Plan A" for middle and high schools. "We're making steady and positive progress," Per- ry said. "I know we all want to get there as quickly as possible. All signs point in a very positive direction. We hope to be able to make strides in that direction very quickly." at guidance drew the ire of Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt, a Republican who pushed for reopening all schools under "Plan A," including middle and high schools. "We need more clarity. It feels like we're kicking the can down the street," said Truitt. "It continues to be an exercise in frustration for our local super- intendents to continue to have guidance issued that doesn't really change anything." State Treasurer Dale Folwell, also a Republican, noted that his office had recently opened to on-site work, but half of the excused absences from his staff were attributable to closed public schools, which have left parents with no reliable child-care option. "It's not just impacting the kids who are unable to get back into the classroom. It's impacting the par- ents who can't get back to work because their kids aren't in the classroom. It's real," Folwell said. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are seeking to leapfrog Cooper's veto of Senate Bill 37 by intro- ducing a series of local bills that aren't subject to a gubernatorial veto. e first of those, House Bill 90, would allow districts to fully reopen under "Plan A" in Carteret, Haywood, Randolph, and Yancey Coun- ty schools. A local bill can affect up to 14 counties. S.B. 37, which passed the General Assembly in mid-February in a bipartisan vote, would direct all public school districts to reopen for in-classroom instruction. Parents would still have the option of remote learning under the bill. Cooper vetoed the measure Feb. 26. "e Cooper administration claims to be com- mitted to reopening schools fully, but their actions suggest otherwise. Families are tired of Governor Cooper's empty promises and continued disregard for the well-being of public school children," says Dr. Terry Stoops, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation. "e school reopening issue exhibits the problem with granting extraordinary executive power to a governor during an emergency or crisis. Even when the threat subsides, they don't want to relinquish their authority." Rep. Pat McElraft, R-Carteret, is the primary spon- sor of H.B. 90. "ere is no issue more vital to the health and wellbeing of children in North Carolina that letting them return to in-person learning as soon as pos- sible," McElraft says in a statement. "e General Assembly will pursue every avail- able opportunity to address the devastating harm to our students that closed schools have caused," the lawmakers says. "Our kids are not just failing — they are being failed by a refusal among elected leaders to let them learn." "Reopening classrooms in North Carolina for struggling students is the top priority we hear from constituents every single day in the General Assem- bly," said House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland County. "We will continue to advance legislation on their behalf that lets children return to in-person learning full time as soon as possible." e House Education K-12 Committee is sched- uled to take up H.B. 90 on March 9. NEWS ANDREW DUNN, Carolina Journal News Service. COMMENTS? editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Efforts to reopen N.C. classrooms ramp up, despite Cooper's veto by DAVID BASS Lawmakers push bills to free counties from COVID restrictions by ANDREW DUNN Lawmakers in the General Assembly have filed a series of bills that would exempt counties they rep- resent from some or all of Gov. Roy Cooper's COVID restrictions. ese so-called "local bills" only apply to a small number of counties each. But unlike statewide legislation, these bills don't require the governor's signature to become law. Rep. David Rogers, R-Rutherford, has filed the most sweeping of these bills. Under House Bill 166, measures taken by the governor during a state of emergency would only be valid in Rutherford and Polk counties if approved by the Council of State or by the majority vote of the county commissioners. Should it pass, current executive orders related to the coronavirus pandemic would cease to be valid after two days. e bill appears to be a response to a quirk of North Carolina's Emergency Management Act, which gives the governor broad power to craft prohibitions and restrictions during a declared emergency. He is legally allowed to require evacua- tions, control prices, regulate gatherings and restrict traffic. e act includes a provision that the governor must get concurrence of the Council of State to exer- cise some of these powers. However, the act later has a contradictory subsec- tion that appears to give the governor sole discretion. is discrepancy in the law was the subject of a lawsuit brought by former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest against Cooper last summer. Forest challenged some of Cooper's executive orders, saying they re- quired the approval of the Council of State. A judge disagreed, ruling that N.C. law gave the governor virtually unchecked power during an emergency. A state of emergency declared by the governor stands until the governor rescinds it. is House bill is the first legislative measure of the current session that would rein in the governor's powers under the Emergency Management Act. But a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, implied that a statewide bill to revisit the act could be in the works. "Reining in the governor's emergency powers is a priority for this session," Pat Ryan told Carolina Journal. "One person, whether it be the governor or any other political leader, should not have unilateral power to shut down the entire state with no checks or balances," Ryan said. House leaders are also planning to address the issue, as well. A spokesman for House Speaker Tim Moore said the House would likely reconsider last session's Sen- ate Bill 105, which would require concurrence of the Council of State for the governor to use most of his emergency powers. e bill was passed by the General Assembly but vetoed by Cooper. "is approach provides valuable input from the 10-member Council of State established in North Carolina's constitution, instead of allowing a single executive to make decisions that have harmed fami- lies' educational and economic wellbeing for nearly a year," Moore spokesman Joseph Kyzer said. Other local bills would permit more people to at- tend outdoor high school athletic events. Called the "Students, Parents, Community Rights Act," these bills would allow 50% capacity at outdoor sporting events. Until this week, these events were capped at 100 attendees per Cooper's executive orders. His most recent order raised that to 30% capacity. ree different local bills with these provisions would affect some two dozen counties. A statewide version of this bill, SB 116, is pending but is subject to the governor's veto. Other local bills in this vein would allow more people to attend high school graduations in seven Piedmont counties and reopen schools in five dis- tricts across several regions. A statewide school reopening bill is awaiting a signature or veto. None of the local bills have made it to a vote of a full chamber yet. Ryan, in Berger's office, said law- makers are usually given "wide deference" when it comes to bills affecting only their districts. DAVID BASS, Carolina Journal News Service. COMMENTS? editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.