LAND O' LAKES, Fla. — A string of upset teachers and parents lined up at Tuesday’s Pasco County School board meeting to express concern over returning to the classroom while COVID-19 positivity rates are still about five percent.
But Pasco superintendent Kurt Browning, who just recovered from COVID-19 himself, says not all teachers share those same concerns.
“The ones you’re not hearing from are the ones that are in my inbox,” said Browning. “They have stopped me in the produce section at Publix when I’m in there shopping and they say, ‘I hope you’re not going to close schools.’”
Pasco, like many other school districts, has tried to provide families flexibility students both in-class and virtual learning options.
It’s the school district’s job to make sure they have enough willing teachers to meet the demand.
“I would say we feel very comfortable,” said Browning. “We probably have 65 percent of our teachers that are saying we want to come back.”
Similar messages were echoed by teachers at a roundtable discussion with Gov. Ron DeSantis last week in Pinellas County.
“I am thrilled that we will be going back to school and then I’ll be back in the classroom,” said a teacher at the Paul B. Stephens school for special needs students. “I want to have my students back here. Because I’m not just the educator on the protector, I’m their caregiver.”
Back in Pasco, Browning understands teachers who may still be afraid have no less passion for their students. He says it comes down to everyone’s personal level of comfort.
“I don’t want anything to get what I’ve had, but they also need to understand that I took an oath when I became superintendent that says I have to uphold those rules and laws,” said Browning. “We’re going to make the best of it we can. It’s going to work.”
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