At odds with Trump, most say unsafe to reopen schools -poll
“I can't risk my kids getting sick or possibly getting somebody else sick or their teachers or vice versa.”
Los Angeles resident Brenda Del Hierro - a mother of two - says she was relieved when she heard her kids would not have to physically go to school in the fall – after her district announced it would do remote learning only.
“I'm not going to send my kid to school to see if they're going to get COVID and to see if they're going to survive COVID. It's unfair to put that risk on our kids.”
Many Americans agree with her.
Only one in four said it is safe for public schools to reopen this fall, according to a new Reuters Ipsos poll out Thursday.
The results suggest President Donald Trump's demand to fully reopen schools is at odds with how most Americans stand on the issue.
Asked who should determine when schools reopen in their community, 40% of those polled said they would leave the decision to public health experts.
Only 5% said they would leave it to the federal government.
And - Four in 10 parents said they would likely keep their children home even if classes resume.
Health officials say it is safe for students to go back to school in communities where the outbreak is minimal... and with precautions in place.
At St. Joseph School in La Puente, California – this private school is planning for in-person teaching.
It’s renovating and upping safety measures - like having desks six feet apart with partitions and temperature screenings.
Principal, Luis Hayes:
"We're going to do our best to make it work for our kids and for our parents. A lot of our parents are working parents, single moms, dual income families. They have to work; they have to take their children somewhere. And we want to do our part to support them and also support our economy.”
But, as the virus continues to spread, the reopening debate is fierce and partisan... Half of Republicans surveyed said they thought schools were safe, compared with only one in 10 Democrats.
