Why Stanislaus County supervisors need to immediately shut down talk of opening schools

Terry Withrow’s recommendation that Stanislaus County leaders give another sharp poke in the eye to Gov. Gavin Newsom is needlessly provocative at best. At worst, it could take tens of millions of dollars away from those among us who need it most, and put us further behind in our fight against COVID-19.

Withrow, one of five elected county supervisors, said he wants to publicly assure school officials that the county will sit on its enforcement hands if schools decide to open in violation of the governor’s rules.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Stanislaus supervisors took a similar vote back in May to look the other way if businesses should open in violation of the governor’s shutdown order.

These short-sighted demands have gone far enough. When supervisors — Tom Berryhill, Jim DeMartini, Kristin Olsen, Vito Chiesa and Withrow — convene next week in a special meeting to consider Withrow’s absurd recommendation, they should put on their big-people pants and soundly reject it, for various reasons:

• Stanislaus’ position as one of the nation’s COVID hotspots will worsen if thousands of students now engaged in distance learning at home instead begin prematurely circulating at school. It’s true that young ones don’t get as sick or die from the virus as easily as older people, but they can and do carry it without knowing, and may take it home to parents, grandparents and others. Also at risk are teachers, administrators and other school staff.
• The county might have to return $21 million in state money that was granted on condition that county leaders not do exactly what they’re contemplating in refusing to follow state coronavirus guidelines. Withrow shrugged that off Tuesday, saying, “We’re creative; we’ll figure out something else.” His colleague, Vito Chiesa, prudently observed that this sort of money leverages as much as three times its amount in additional government funding which is most often used to ease burdens of our poor. Throwing that away is unconscionable.
  
  
• Before Tuesday’s announcement of eight more deaths and 591 positive cases, there was a glimmer of hope; Stanislaus’ positivity rate had dipped below 17% for three consecutive days for the first time since early July. Progress is slow, and we need to stay on that trajectory, not send it skyward once again with new outbreaks.
• Several local authorities, including Stanislaus Sheriff Jeff Dirkse, have made it perfectly clear that enforcement of state rules is not a priority. Proclaiming that the county will ignore rogue schools serves zero practical purpose.

Unfortunately, Chiesa may be the only supervisor who isn’t spoiling for another fight with Newsom. Stanislaus supervisors — Republicans, all — rarely miss a chance to take swipes at the Democratic governor. And some are deserved. For instance, allowing some small schools in corners of our county not decimated by the virus to resume classes makes some sense.

Sending the wrong message

But another provocative show of rebellion smacks of political gamesmanship and sends entirely the wrong message.

As The Bee has said before, telling the world that there would be no consequence here for ignoring orders from Sacramento gives people one more reason not to wear a mask, or to keep six feet away, or to accept that COVID is real.

How well has supervisors’ look-the-other-way May directive worked for us?

When they issued that act of defiance, Stanislaus had 517 confirmed COVID cases and 22 deaths. Now we have more than 10,000 cases, and our death toll stands at 177, finally surpassing the 174 Stanislaus residents who died from the Spanish flu in 1918. That’s right — in raw numbers, the coronavirus now stands second to none as the most efficient viral killer in recorded Stanislaus history. And it’s not close to done.

Supervisors should recognize that we’re finally on a better course, leave well enough alone, keep their heads down and keep the money. They must see that almost all of us have the same goal in mind: returning students to class, where they can bond with teachers and classmates and nourish body and mind. We just need to make sure it’s safe before that happens.

This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 4:00 AM.