This might be one of the most important date tables you will see in a while.

John deVille, veteran Macon County teacher and public school advocate, has this gift of presenting data in very digestible ways, even for those who don’t want to confront reality.

The title says it all.

It reminds me of that school in Georgia (North Paulding H.S.) where a student posted a photo of a crowded hallway during class changing. She was suspended by the school and then reinstated after public outcry.

This past weekend it became known that 9 students had already tested positive for the virus. Many more are awaiting testing.

deVille’s graphic brings light to the much needed HEROES ACT “which would strengthen safety for all workers in our country.”

H.E.R.O.E.S. stands for Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (H.R. 6800).

Specifically, this is what HEROES does nationally:

It has passed the House of Representatives. Now the U.S. Senate needs to act.

You may ask, how does this specifically affect North Carolina? If the Senate passes this act, then NC would receive nearly 2 billion dollars that could help save and create K-12 positions like teachers, assistants, and other staff to the tune of thousands.

Billions of dollars would come to the state that would help save and continue to fund front-line public sector workers like nurses and education staff.

And there would be a few more billion just devoted to testing – hopefully quicker turnarounds on tests as well. Still there are reports of it taking ten or more days to receive results of tests.

This past weekend NCAE held a few driving rallies around the state to bring attention to actions and lack of actions by Sen. Thom Tillis. Caravans drove round his state offices to make people aware of his duty to help NC in this pandemic – specifically his ability to help push for the HEROES Act.

It is that important, especially as more and more school systems start flirting with reopening buildings. And if that happens without properly funded safety protocols, then deVille’s chart will have to be amended.

And not for the better.