The debate being waged in North Carolina as far as reopening schools during a pandemic is concerned is certainly not limited to this state.

It’s happening everywhere.

The following tweet references a letter from the Richmond Education Association a chapter of the Virginia Association of Educators. (Compliments to Victoria Lunetta Creamer for the tweet).

The five questions posed in this letter to lawmakers trying to fully open schools in Virginia are questions that should be asked of our NCGA here.

Here are those five questions. And each is probably applicable to every state in the country.

1. Why is our economy resting on schools as childcare centers? Shouldn’t American businesses in the year 2020 have advanced to the point that other countries have where childcare is provided by businesses, long-term parental leave is accommodated, and flexibility in working from home or the office is normal practice?
2. Why have we allowed for an income gap that is so severe and distribution of resources that is so inequitable that we cannot provide online learning to all of our students?
3. Why is it the case that schools, ostensibly responsible for education, have become the band-aid solution to basic food access and healthcare services to families?
4. Why are our schools so poorly resourced that we can’t even fund student and staff needs during normal times, and don’t even come close to having the money to accommodate the adjustments that would be necessary to make partial in-school learning feasible during a health crisis?
5. If the economy so heavily depends on schools, why are businesses paying tax rates that allow for six figure salaries while schools don’r even have functioning air-conditioning units?

Sen. Berger? Rep. Moore? Both of you have been very quick to retweet Trump’s call for reopening schools. Care to answer these questions?