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.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1357003
10 UCW MARCH 31-APRIL 6, 2021 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM NEWS JEFF THOMPSON, Reporter. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Cumberland County school children are back in the classroom by JEFF THOMPSON Cumberland County Schools will transi- tion to Plan A beginning Monday, April 12. e Cumberland County Board of Education approved the changeover during a recent special meeting. Under Plan A, all students will be eligible to attend class in person on Monday, Tuesday, ursday and Friday of each week. Wellness Wednesday will be an independent remote learning day for all students so school buildings can be cleaned. School-based virtual learning options remain open to students. Plan A does not require schools to reduce the usual number of students in the class- room. Social distancing is not required on school buses. CCS will continue the process of temperature screening students and others who enter school buildings. Social distancing protocols will be in effect inside schools and visitor limitations remain in effect. Stu- dents, faculty members and staff must wear masks or face coverings in school and on school buses. All families had the opportunity of deciding if their children would transition to Plan A or switch to full-time virtual learning. Families of students who are currently participating in full-time virtual learn- ing which did not complete preference forms prior to the deadline, will remain remote through May 2021. Students enrolled in virtual academies are not eligible to transfer to other schools in the district at this time and will remain at the virtual academies through May. School pupils began returning to class earlier this month. ey were divided into two groups. Some attended school on Monday and Tuesday. Others returned to classrooms on ursday and Friday. Schools Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr., ac- knowledged the time and effort that has been spent making students' return a "safe and healthy one." Dedicated employees "have worked around the clock to prepare for a hybrid teaching and learning model," he said. "And we cannot forget the work of our staff members who are making sure we're pre- pared to operate safely, effectively and efficiently." Students, for their part, likely have lost months of learning as they return to classrooms. Most kids yearn for social connection with their peers and teachers, and the pandemic has caused many of them to fall behind. Some lack internet access at home and have resorted to finding nearby school buses outfitted with high-speed Wi-Fi. Cumberland County schools have discontinued the process because buses are on the road again. Lacking access to in-person schooling can also put some children at risk of going without meals or spending increased time with abusive relatives. Remote learning has exacerbated the institutional harms that were already being inflicted on many families. Virtual schooling could have a silver lining though: some children may end up being more resilient on the other side of the pandemic. Navigat- ing uncertainty, maintaining hope for the future, and relying on community resources to overcome challenges are skills some youngsters could be developing. For many students, learning from home can also be healthier than in-person schooling. Deepening their bond with parents, for instance, sets founda- tions for trust and empathy. General Assembly advances bill to rein in governor's emergency powers by ANDREW DUNN More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic brought North Carolina to a screeching halt, Gov. Roy Cooper shows no sign of relinquishing the sweeping and open-ended emergency powers he has claimed under state law. e General Assembly is now trying once again to clarify exactly what a governor should have the power to do on his own during a state of emergency — and how long "emergencies" should be able to last. A new bill that would rewrite the state's Emer- gency Management Act advanced through a House Judiciary committee this week. It now sits in the House Rules Committee. North Carolina's current law allows the governor to declare a state of emergency at any time, and it does not end until the governor declares it over. During such a period, the governor has broad pow- ers to regulate gatherings, close schools, shutter businesses, or mandate evacuations. e law appears to require Council of State con- currence for some of these powers, but when Coo- per was challenged last summer over several of his executive orders, a judge ruled that North Carolina's governor can make these decisions unilaterally Under House Bill 264, a state of emergency would end within seven days unless the Council of State authorizes it to last longer. e Council of State would then need to vote to continue the state of emergency every 30 days. e governor would also need Council of State ap- proval to exercise most of the powers to prohibit and restrict activity and business. "A year ago, when the shutdown order was en- tered, most people in our state didn't believe that the governor had the ability to shut our entire state down. Most people assumed there were at least some form of checks and balances on that sort of measure," said Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, when the bill was first introduced. "Our state is going to face other emergencies in the future. We've got to build public trust in an emergency situation. e way we do that, try to take the politics out of it, is through a deliberative process. is bill would give us that deliberative process." e Council of State is made up of the indepen- dently elected statewide officials under the state constitution, including the lieutenant governor, state auditor, state treasurer, and secretary of state. Notably, the bill does not include new legislative oversight. Other states have taken up similar bills as the coronavirus has shone a light on the shortcomings of most state emergency laws, which historically have been used primarily during hurricanes or other natural disasters. New York's state legislature, for example, passed a law this month requiring more oversight of its governor's emergency powers. In North Carolina, Cooper would need to sign this new emergency powers bill for it to go into ef- fect. is is unlikely. Over the past year, Cooper has vetoed any effort to rein in his control. Instead, he has preferred to go it alone — some- thing General Assembly leaders have noted. "e current law that granted these emergency powers was simply not written for today's challeng- es," Rep. John Bell, R-Wayne, said when the bill was first introduced. "ere needs to be more bipartisan input and checks and balances. ere is no unilat- eral rule in a constitutional republic." Under current law, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper can declare a state of emergency at any time, and it does not end until the governor declares it over. (Photo by Maya Reagan, Carolina Journal) With some COVID restrictions lifted, children are returning to clasrooms in Cumberland County. ANDREW DUNN, Carolina Journal News Service. COMMENTS? editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.