At a press conference earlier this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom briefly sketched a plan for reopening the state’s public schools. His proposals have left more questions than answers for education officials across the state, including those in Long Beach.
Newsom called for continued physical distancing, which could come from staggered schedules, split campuses, or expanded schedules for the school day, week or year.
For schools, the biggest challenge officials will face is how to continue physical distancing among children and adults to ensure that “kids aren’t going to school, getting infected and then infecting grandma and grandpa,” Newsom said.
Newsom said he was having intense conversations with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and other education leaders about how to reorganize schools. And any changes in school schedules would have to be negotiated with the powerful teachers’ unions.
“(Teachers) are best equipped to drive those conversations and to be a part of that decision-making process and they will ensure whatever plans we end up with work best for their students,” said Claudia Briggs, a spokeswoman for the California Teachers Association.
Every potential solution outlined by Newsom would require an enormous influx of money. If classrooms have to include fewer students, there will be a need for more teachers. If schools run a morning and an afternoon session, there will need to be more teachers as well as more campus staff—even more so if schools are asked to run on the weekends.
“The idea that we might need to continue social distancing when school resumes certainly got our attention,” said Long Beach Unified School District Public Information Officer Chris Eftychiou, reacting to the governor’s speech. “How do you do that at a 3,600-student high school? We’ll continue monitoring the situation carefully, working closely with our partnering agencies at the local and state level.”
The simple fact remains that any change to the “normal” operating structure of the LBUSD—or any district—could be enormously costly. The governor’s comments come during a week when many senior members of the district staff are preparing for what they expect to be major cuts from Newsom’s budget later this school year.
Jill Baker, the LBUSD’s next superintendent who takes over August 1, previously said she thinks those budget cuts are one of the most important hurdles facing the district.
“The biggest challenges we’ll have are some critical budget decisions and the issue of stability in a post-COVID environment, and thinking about how to bring school back,” she said.
Current superintendent Chris Steinhauser was even more blunt in his comments.
“We’re looking at cuts come May,” he said during a livestream Q&A with the Post prior to Newsom’s recent comments. “We know the governor is going to have to re-adjust the budget. The tax revenue won’t come in until July, so the governor won’t know how much money he has to work with…I’m not going to lie to anybody, it’s going to be some tough years ahead. We’ll fare better than most districts because we’ve been fiscally sound and we’re in good shape.”
Steinhauser and the LBUSD Board of Education have been notably conservative with the LBUSD’s budget since the 2008 recession forced the district to lay off 650 employees, a tough blow to the city’s largest workforce.
“Outside of having to go to a student or teacher’s funeral, that’s the toughest day of my career,” said Steinhauser. “Because of our conservatism we are in better shape than many other districts. But this fiscal impact will be at least a two-year process on the short end. Even if we come back when we hope to come back, the recovery won’t happen until the next fiscal year. I’ll be working really hard with the board and staff to identify reductions that have the least impact.”
As local officials brace for what are expected to be budgets with major cuts, and as the governor outlines costly proposals to reopen schools, many unanswered questions remain.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.