School reopening proposal may not fund requirements, educators say

January 14, 2021 — The governor is seeking early action from the legislature that would provide grants to incentivize local school districts to start reopening for in-person instruction as early as February 15, starting with kids in pre-K through second grade. Students from third to sixth grade would start a month later. Schools would need an agreement with the unions and a strategy for complying with safety criteria from the state, which is set to come out this week. Parents could still keep their children at home if they don’t feel safe about sending them to class. Schools in purple-tier counties like Mendocino would be able to reopen, as long as the average daily rate of infections does not exceed 28 per 100,000 residents. But local educators worry about the source of the funding, and whether it will even be enough to cover the costs of the required testing.