wsws.org 20 Mar, 2021 19:15 am

Pandemic threatens to explode in Massachusetts as Baker administration forces schools open

Governor Baker’s unelected board voted to give Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley “full power of the law” to force open all state school districts amid dangers of a new surge.

Riley, DESE and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker present these murderous directives as beneficial for children, falsely claiming that “the science is clear” that it is safe to reopen schools.Baker and Riley have been pushing to reopen schools in one form or another since they were initially closed in March 2020.According to DESE’s website, the “Board” that voted to give Riley absolute power to reopen schools “includes the secretary of education, a student (the president of the State Student Advisory Council), and nine members appointed by the governor.8 days in the US and will soon be the dominant strain as schools reopen.

At every turn, the response of the unions to the homicidal drive to reopen schools, both in Massachusetts and across the country, has been to seek to head off resistance of rank-and-file educators with mealy-mouthed statements of protest and public opposition stunts, followed by agreements handing control of school reopenings to local mayors and state governors .The school reopenings will be enforced statewide in three phases, with Grades K–5 beginning full-time, in-person, five days a week starting April 5; Grades 6–8, April 28; and with plans for Grades 9–12 forthcoming some time in April.

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