Student Union
Add $1.7 Million to School Budgets After COVID, Says Report
School districts may need to spend an estimated $1,778,139 above their budgets to safely reopen because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report says.
“Costs will vary by district depending on many factors,” writes the Association of School Business Officials International, along with ASSA, the School Superintendents Association.
Those costs will be affected by regional and market prices for goods and services. Larger districts may have access to lower unit costs because they can buy in higher volumes. Labor costs will include the availability of staff and goods necessary to comply with recommended social distancing and cleaning protocols, the report states.
And the association sees a 25% increase in transportation capacity to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Nearly 70% of the extra costs — $1,232,000 — is estimated to be spent on hiring staff to implement health and safety protocols, such as additional custodial staff for increased cleaning or disinfecting of schools and buses to prevent spread. The report assumes at least one nurse and one aide per bus to screen student temperatures before boarding.
Almost $117,000 would go for adhering to health monitoring and cleaning or disinfecting protocols and providing personal protective equipment (gloves and daily masks) would cost $195,000. Finally, transportation and child care would take a little more than $235,000, the association reports.
This includes hand sanitizers, fog machines and cleaner for buses and before/after school child care programs.
The nearly $1.8 million calculation was based on an average school district that houses 3,659 students, eight school buildings, 183 classrooms, 329 staff members, and 40 school buses.
The report highlights that it “illustrates how the overall cost of school operations will substantially increase to safely reopen” and the list of expenses is not intended to be exhaustive.”
Sarmat Misikov contributed to this report.
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Police arrest 33 at George Washington University protest encampment
Police in Washington cleared a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday, arresting 33 people, authorities said.
Arrests were made on charges of assault on a police officer and unlawful entry, the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department said.
A congressional committee canceled a hearing on the university encampment Wednesday. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith had been scheduled to testify about the city’s handling of the protest before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
University parents and faculty members gathered Wednesday afternoon for a press conference to condemn the handling of the protests by police and school leaders.
“The university clearly does not value the students at all and has endangered the safety of our children by unleashing officers dressed in full riot gear to assault and spray our children in their eyes with pepper spray,” said Hala Amer, whose son participated in the campus protests.
Police said they dispersed demonstrators because "there has been a gradual escalation in the volatility of the protest."
American University professor Barbara Wien said she stayed in the encampment with GW students. She described the student protesters as democratic and peaceful.
Police started to shut down the tent encampment after dozens of protesters marched to GW President Ellen Granberg's on-campus home on Tuesday night. Police were called, but no arrests were made.
Speakers at the conference called for Granberg’s resignation because, they alleged, she refused to meet and negotiate with student protesters.
“You keep inciting violence and ignoring the students,” Amer said about Granberg in an interview with VOA after the conference. “It will just lead to more violence. You need to talk to your students.”
GW officials warned students that they could be suspended for engaging in protests at the school’s University Yard, an outdoor spot on the campus.
"While the university is committed to protecting students' rights to free expression, the encampment had evolved into an unlawful activity, with participants in direct violation of multiple university policies and city regulations," a GW statement said.
More than 2,600 people have been arrested at universities across the country in pro-Palestinian protests, according to The Associated Press.
Students are calling on their university administrations to divest investments from Israel or companies with ties to Israel. Demonstrators have gathered in at least 50 campuses since April 17, carrying signs that read "Free Palestine" and "Hands off Rafah."
Rafah is Gaza’s southernmost city, where most of the territory’s population has clustered. The area is also a corridor for bringing humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
Israel seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, while shutting off the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing, drawing criticism from humanitarian groups. Israel said Wednesday that it had reopened Kerem Shalom.
The nationwide campus protests started in response to Israel's offensive in Gaza that began after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel warned it could "deepen" its operation in Rafah if talks failed to secure the release of the hostages.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
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