Teachers protest reopening of classes despite dysfunctional school facilities haunting most districts in the US.
Dysfunctional school facilities need to be redone
A federation of teachers from Philadelphia conducted a survey on at least 13,000 of its members, the survey asked about their personal view on the cons of reopening schools early in the US. The unanimous concerns from the teachers pointed out to dysfunctional school facilities that might just jeopardize the implementation of proper sanitation in schools.
Teachers are pointing out dysfunctional school facilities like leaking faucet handles, stuck window panes, faulty indoor heat and cooling ventilation, and the lack of proper sanitation equipment.
The United States Government Accountability Office (USGAO) supervised a similar spot check on more or less 13,000 school districts across the US. Half of the schools involved in the accountability check failed in terms of exhibiting fully-functional school facilities.
As President Donal Trump continues to pressure the governor of states to reopen schools early, a new problem arises, jeopardizing the mandate of the president.
Teachers protest lack of safety precautions in schools
Trump urges for an early reopening of classes to help stabilize the country’s economy, many teachers objects, and asks the government to ensure the safety of teachers and students before reopening schools.
As much as we want to go back and teach, school facilities are not up to par in securing the safety and sanitation of the students and us teachers.
According to the director of the US Center for Green Schools, Anisa Heming, issues about water facilities and proper heating and cooling ventilation has long been a problem in most schools in the US. Even having the second biggest national infrastructure budget, it is hard to fathom that most of the schools in the US fail to comply with fixing dysfunctional school facilities.
The pandemic just highlighted the lack of proper facilities within schools. Handwashing is a primary concern in the COVID-19 sanitation guidelines, but schools lack the number of functional faucets to accommodate students and, at the same time, maintain social distancing. Ventilation is also a major setback that school administrators should look into.
To sum it up, physically, the majority of the schools are still not ready to accommodate the return of students to class.
