Trump Threatens to Cut Funding if Schools Aren't "Fully Open" During Pandemic

[luckyshot]

Trump Pledges To 'Pressure' Governors To Reopen Schools Despite Health Concerns

Trump on Wednesday went as far as to threaten to cut off federal funding if schools do not reopen and suggested that his political opponents are somehow interfering with the reopening process, saying Democrats think reopening would hurt them politically in the November election.

However, the decision to reopen schools — like the decision to close them in March — is not top-down, but made from the bottom-up by thousands of local and state school leaders and public health officials.

Despite this, Trump has made his desires clear.

"We're very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools," he said during a roundtable discussion on the subject Tuesday.



This stance was reiterated by Education Secretary/ Cruella DeVille doppleganger, Betsy DeVos who said ‘schools must be "fully operational" even amid the coronavirus pandemic. Anything less would fail students and taxpayers.'
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/07/white-house-cdc-pediatricians-reopening-schools-350655

Both Trump and Devos blasted the CDC guidelines for safe school re-openings as "too restrictive" and threatened to cut funding from states and districts that seek to comply with CDC guidelines.


I guess since they can't bully the virus itself, they will resort to bullying anyone who is trying to act with prudence to keep themselves, their loved ones, and vulnerable members of the community safe.

Really? That’s how we manage a safe, systematic return to school ... with pressure and threats from people who have never been on the front lines of education and never attended a public school? This is a shit show right now that district administrators, teachers, town officials and parents are trying to navigate. How about giving states and districts the time, financial support and flexibility to create a plan and the okay to adjust that plan as things progress? How about supplying schools with ongoing testing? How about acknowledging that this is a really tough situation and there is no one size fits all. Where is the humanity? Where is the acknowledgement of the facts? Where is the support?

Oh, that's right, this is the Trump administration we're talking about.

Edit: Here's a post circulating on social media that sums up the situation well:

So if you didn’t catch this mornings shitshow, it went basically like this:
The CDC put out its official recommendations and requirements states should meet before reopening schools.
Trump went to twitter, shitted on the CDC recommendations, demanding that k-12 schools fully open up in the fall. He threatened to cut federal funding if they do not.
Then the coronavirus task force held a press conference, minus Fauci, because he’s on the President’s shit list.
Betsy Devos said she really really really wants kids back in school. She does not know how to do this, offered no suggestions. Just that they need to open, and leaves it up to local officials to figure it out.
Vice President Pence said children are resilient. Basically made out of cartilage with healthy lungs. They probably won’t get sick, so we shouldn’t worry about them. There is also no disagreement between the CDC and Trump. Trump wants schools to open, and just doesn’t want the CDC’s guidelines to be the reason for schools not opening?
Yes, he actually said he doesn’t want states to keep their schools closed just because their own CDC says it is not safe to open.
So the VP says, don’t worry, let’s bring up the Director of the CDC to clarify. -And I could‘ve sworn I heard this guy gulp off camera.
But the director of the CDC comes up and says he also wants schools to open safely. He said he likes his job and wants to keep it, therefore, he is also in full agreement with Trump, despite the guidelines they released hours before.
So then Dr. Birx comes on and says half the country has seen a surge of new cases. The country is worse off than it was back at the start of all this. She said they should return to phase 1 and start all over.
Now, an astute reader may wonder how do half the states return to phase 1, and still expect to open by fall? Good question. ..... And while you were thinking about it, Birx tries to leave the podium.
But before she gets away, Pence stops her, suggests she ‘talk about that other thing about the children’. She hesitates, then agrees.
She comes back up to the mic, says most children probably won’t die. Maybe 0.02%. And usually the ones who die were already sick, so you parents at home may want to keep an eye on them. Oh- and we have virtually no data on how transmissible the virus is in children because we’ve barely tested any of them, but let me get out of your hair.
Pence comes back and says, see, we’re good here.
—————————
And Fauci has gone total rogue. He has been giving interviews across the media spectrum, politely telling anyone who will listen that following trump’s orders regarding the Coronavirus will lead to certain doom. Death and economic disaster on a scale never seen before. Please turn back while you still can.
And now you are filled in.

 

[Joe]

I'm sure it will be coherent and not confusing

 

[TheTimeIsNotNow]

Having a years worth of educationally stunted Americans would be a huge gain to the Republican party

 

[Crom Cruach]

Liberal Marxists are winning with their shitty soundbite "Defund the Police".

We need something to fight them with.

Defund the Teachers

It starts here. Who's with us.

 

[luckyshot]

Liberal Marxists are winning with their shitty soundbite "Defund the Police".

We need something to fight them with.

Defund the Teachers

It starts here. Who's with us.

Schools have been defunded for over a decade now... especially in Red States. Where have you been, boss?

 

[Orgasmo]

Yes open the schools. Let the coronavirus circulate and brought home to parents and grandparents. Brilliant strategy to cull the weak!

 

[bobgeese]

That’s retarded.


I’m sure that’s only half the story, but it’s still half retarded.

 

[Rocksalt]

Trump Pledges To 'Pressure' Governors To Reopen Schools Despite Health Concerns

Trump on Wednesday went as far as to threaten to cut off federal funding if schools do not reopen and suggested that his political opponents are somehow interfering with the reopening process, saying Democrats think reopening would hurt them politically in the November election.

However, the decision to reopen schools — like the decision to close them in March — is not top-down, but made from the bottom-up by thousands of local and state school leaders and public health officials.

Despite this, Trump has made his desires clear.

"We're very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools," he said during a roundtable discussion on the subject Tuesday.



This stance was reiterated by Education Secretary/ Cruella DeVille doppleganger, Betsy DeVos who said ‘schools must be "fully operational" even amid the coronavirus pandemic. Anything less would fail students and taxpayers.'
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/07/white-house-cdc-pediatricians-reopening-schools-350655

Both Trump and Devos blasted the CDC guidelines for safe school re-openings as "too restrictive" and threatened to cut funding from states and districts that seek to comply with CDC guidelines.


I guess since they can't bully the pandemic directly, they will resort to bullying anyone who is trying to act with prudence to keep themselves, their loved ones, and vulnerable members of the community safe.

Really? That’s how we manage a safe, systematic return to school ... with pressure & threats from people who have never been on the front lines of education & never attended a public school? This is a shit show right now that district administrators, teachers, town officials & parents are trying to navigate. How about giving states & districts the time, financial support & flexibility to create a plan & the okay to adjust that plan as things progress? How about supplying schools with ongoing testing? How about acknowledging that this is a really tough situation & there is no one size fits all. Where is the humanity? Where is the acknowledgement of the facts? Where is the support?

Oh, that's right, this is the Trump administration we're talking about.

well if they don’t keep the schools open we will have a bunch of emotionally retarded college kids with no skills destroying the community with pointless MUH LIFE SUCKS riots

 

[Overtures]

Should be up to states and schools depending on multiple factors, like outbreak in the community and logistical capacity.

 

[PolishHeadlock2]

 

[Sycho Sid]

 

[TribalDrumz]

This con artist paid for his SAT like it was a Saved By The Bell episode

 

[FinalFight]

Trump is literally using kids as political pawns to one up the democrats. He said it himself, so there's no denying it.

 

[BlacknBlue]

Very little school funding comes from the Feds anyway. He's right though, fully open the schools. There is plenty of data at this point that suggests COVID-19:

1. Is of minimal risk to children
2. Does not spread easily between children
3. Does not spread easily from children to adults

https://www.businessinsider.com/cor...d-2-pupils-infected-863-close-contacts-2020-5

Closing schools should be an absolute last resort, and right now the data does not support it. Our kids physical and mental health is already lower than previous generations, and putting them in front of a computer all day without sports, gym, or socialization is only going to make that worse.

 

[heloder]

Trump is literally using kids as political pawns to one up the democrats. He said it himself, so there's no denying it.

Trump 2020: Killin' Kids to Own the Libs

 

[ultramanhyata]

Imagine any Trump supporter with school age kids supporting this lunacy - knowing full well that if Trump went through with it it could have a devastating effect on their own child's quality of education.

The Orange Man cultists really are almost at a child-sacrifice-to-Moloch level of fanatical allegiance.

 

[luckyshot]

Very little school funding comes from the Feds anyway. He's right though, fully open the schools. There is plenty of data at this point that suggests COVID-19:

1. Is of minimal risk to children
2. Does not spread easily between children
3. Does not spread easily from children to adults

https://www.businessinsider.com/cor...d-2-pupils-infected-863-close-contacts-2020-5

Closing schools should be an absolute last resort, and right now the data does not support it. Our kids physical and mental health is already lower than previous generations, and putting the in front of a computer all day without sports or gym class is only going to make that worse.

I don’t disagree that schools should be open if possible. It’s the ham-handed, bullying, stupid manner with which Trump approaches this (and every) situation that is most of the problem.

What about reassuring states that they will be given every resource to re-open as safely as possible, including full testing capacity?

That would be good, right?

Instead he just threatend to CUT funding if they don’t comply— or in this case do comply with the CDC guidelines.

Classic Trumpublican stupidity. This is what the GOP has become since the Obama era; the dumb guy party.

 

[TUFNewb]

Gonna give trillions to businesses to keep them running, why not INCREASE funding for schools to help them open too? That is what they will need, more money to hire and train staff and for ppe... not threats. A real leader would be telling people that kids need to be back in school but he will make sure it is done safely. That he has parents and educators backs just like he had the backs of billionaires and corporations. Instead he says this stupid shit and makes it all about himself just further digging his own political grave.

 

[Hit-N-Run]

Everything this administration has done (or has failed to do) during this pandemic has been completely wrong. Every step of the way, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Anyone that can't see that just can't read a chart. There's a reason the rest of the world is opening and the US had 10X the infection rate.

 

[AtomicPanther]

But I can't pay someone really smart to take my tests if schools are open.