Some South Carolina teachers are taking a day off to fight for safer classrooms in the midst of the pandemic, as well as a small annual increase that was frozen after the economy crashed because of the virus
COLOMBIA, SC – Some South Carolina teachers took a personal day on Wednesday to fight for safer classrooms in the midst of the pandemic, as well as a small annual increase that was frozen after the economy crashed because of the virus.
Unlike May 2019, when SC for Ed brought 10,000 people to the Statehouse for a demonstration in support of educators that attracted national attention, teachers on Wednesday stayed home and called and emailed lawmakers.
“We didn’t want to put them at more risk,” said Lisa Ellis, who founded the group on social media less than two years ago.
Dissatisfied teachers are again moving to the forefront of South Carolina politics. After that big demonstration 16 months ago, the governor and many lawmakers supported an overall $ 3,000 increase for teachers in December.
But then COVID-19 arrived, the money for the increases disappeared and now teachers have gone from being underrated to fearing their own lives and those of their families, while Republican Governor Henry McMaster and others are pushing for face-to-face classes five days a week.
The local COVID-19 case count and positive test levels are higher than the rates discussed for safe schools in early summer.
But the governor said that parents need schools to keep an eye on their children to get back to work, comments echoed by parents who also said that online learning is not as effective as classroom teaching.
Ellis said that teachers want to go back to the classroom too, but only when it is safe. SC for Ed researched teachers when the school year began and found that the only protective equipment that almost everyone received was masks.
More than two-thirds of them strongly disapprove or disapprove of the way South Carolina is dealing with the reopening of schools and 27% are considering quitting their jobs.
According to data maintained by the Associated Press, there have been about 293 new cases per 100,000 people in South Carolina in the past two weeks, which ranks ninth in the country for new cases per capita.
And as soon as the school year started, a teacher, a coach and a bus monitor died from COVID-19. None of them were with students, but the deaths hit educators hard across the state.
“I think there is a narrative that doesn’t respect teachers,” said Ellis. “And there is a lot of misinformation about the risks.”
Instead of another big rally, SC for Ed decided to hold a virtual defense day on Wednesday. There were videos of demonstrations on Facebook and teachers got in touch by phone and online with lawmakers, especially those the group feels are not in contact with the needs of teachers.
There was no immediate estimate of how many teachers took the day off. The May demonstration led to the closure of several school districts because many teachers were absent. No district was closed on Wednesday.
Ellis said teachers were also insulted by the House’s decision not to debate this week an addition to the 2020-21 state budget approved by the Senate that would thaw what is called a gradual increase – an extra increase of several hundred. dollars given annually to most teachers as they gain experience.
The Senate said this was a small show of respect for teachers and the $ 40 million was only a small part of the more than $ 700 million that the state set aside to tackle the COVID-19 economic crisis if it is worse than predicted.
Senators set aside most of the money after approving increases and other small spending items, such as $ 9 million for school nurses and $ 20 million for $ 1,000 hazard bonuses for state employees who earn less than $ 50,000 a year. Employees who received the extra money needed to continue working while at risk for COVID-19, such as state police, prison officers and health professionals who collected samples for virus tests.
House leaders said there was still a lot of uncertainty and promised to look at the increases when the next General Assembly meets in January.
COVID-19 helped SC to Ed with a major legislative victory. The separate massive education review projects passed in the House and Senate are dead, in part because the time it took in theory to resolve the differences between the bill was not there after the virus disrupted the session in late March.
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