A group of parents in Bowling Green, Ohio, protested on Monday night against a recent school board decision to keep local students in online learning, despite the school system being designated as safe to reopen.
The protest was sponsored by the group BG VOICE, a Facebook group boasting more than 600 members who are concerned about the board’s decision to keep students in online learning.
The board for Bowling Green City Schools originally planned to re-evaluate its July decision to have online learning every six weeks. Last week by a 3 to 2 vote, the board decided to keep students online, with board leadership saying there would not be a re-vote, according to 13 ABC.
BGCS’s board said it was concerned about possible spread in the community from Bowling Green State University, as well as that a hybrid program would only allow instruction two days out of the week, according to BG Independent Media.
BGSU has had nearly 500 positive cases of COVID-19 since reopening in August, according to a university dashboard.
BG VOICE has created a petition in opposition of that decision, saying that online learning is detrimental to students. The petition has garnered nearly 900 signatures. The group also hosted a protest on Monday night in downtown Bowling Green.
Event organizer Jessica Swaisgood told local media that she and other parents think there is a better way.
“We believe there is a way to come up with a safe plan in order to get our kids back in school. I think a large amount of the community wants that very same thing,” Swaisgood told The Morning Show BG. “…Not only are we caring about the dangers of COVID, we’re actually caring about children’s mental health and their overall wellbeing by being isolated at home and not getting to see people.”
Part One
Part Two
A July statement from the Ohio Education Association said schools should reopen if they are located in an orange warning zone, the second-lowest level of danger, according to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System.
“Until a vaccine or cure for COVID-19 is widely available, schools in all counties, including Level 2 (orange) and Level 1 (yellow) must be permitted to open for in-person instruction only if all CDC requirements can be fully met,” OEA said in July. “If a school or campus building is located in a county that is downgraded from Level 4 (purple) or Level 3 (red) to Level 2 (orange) or Level 1 (yellow) due to a reduction of risk factors as identified by the state, a minimum of two weeks must be provided to allow for transition from remote to in-person instruction.”
As of Monday, most of Ohio was labeled as a red or orange zone — levels two and three out of four, respectively — with some counties labeled as yellow, the lowest caution level. No counties were labeled as purple, the highest caution level.
Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison had said at a recent board meeting that the number of cases in the Bowling Green area is higher than in other parts of the county, but that the health department is not seeing cases spread in schools, according to BG Independent Media.
“If they want a seat at the table, they need to run for school board when the time comes up like we did, said board president Ginny Stewart, according to 13 ABC. “They elected us and our constituents had faith in us to do the job.”
The school board has said that it is listening to parents’ concerns, but that is not going to “apologize for a decision that we believe is in the best interest of families, students, teachers and the community,” Steward said, according to BG Independent Media.
Swaisgood’s group does not have its own plan or proposal, but said there must be another solution.
“There has to be another way to do this,” she told The Morning Show BG. “I know that our school board is intelligent and that they can come up with a plan. When there’s a will, there’s a way, for sure.”
Find BG VOICE’s petition here.
—
Jordyn Pair is a reporter with The Ohio Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair.
