Houston Republic

Superintendents from 10 Houston-area school districts wrote a letter last month to Harris County Health Department Executive Director Dr. Umair Shah, expressing their concerns over remote learning in schools and suggesting that continuing to delay in-person teaching will harm students.

“As educational leaders providing for the well-being and educational needs of over a half-million students, we cannot support your recommendation that would essentially require indefinite closure of schools to in-person instruction while awaiting a widely available COVID-19 medical countermeasure or greater staffing capacity at Harris County Public Health for contact tracing,” the superintendents wrote in a two-page letter obtained by Houston Public Media.

The media report said that disagreement over how to reopen schools is “politicizing” the issue by drawing in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his opponents, as well as potential litigation. The superintendents indicated they would like to review local, state and national guidelines to make the best possible choices for their school districts.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott | File photo

Collectively, the superintendents have approximately 450,000 students enrolled in the districts of Clear Creek, Cy-Fair, Tomball ISD, Spring Branch, Pasadena, Klein, Katy, Humble, Huffman and Deer Park.

In a response letter on July 20, Shah and his colleague Dr. Elizabeth Perez said that they could not allow in-person instruction because indicators say it’s not safe in Harris County because of the pandemic. Quoted in the Community Impact Newspaper, Shah said he understands that in-person instruction is vital for educational success.

“Schools provide much-needed food assistance to many lower-income families by offering students healthy meals and access to resources they may not otherwise have,” Shah's letter read. “And in-person instruction of children is crucial for many parents to carry out their activities. However, the prevalence of the virus in our community means that it would be unsafe for schools to return in-person at this time or in the near future. In-person activities for schools are indeed valuable for the social fabric of children and communities. Data and evidence remain the cornerstone of decision-making.”

In an interview with News Channel 6 on Aug. 6, Abbott, a Republican, recommended that students wear masks, that schools have staggered openings, with alternating shifts of students on school grounds and different entry times, and with more spread-out seating in classrooms and at lunch. The topic of a widely circulated photo of a Georgia high school that reopened on time only to shut down a week later after a COVID-19 outbreak came up during the interview. 

“I saw the picture that you may have made reference to about the Georgia school with the packed hallway, with kids shoulder to shoulder without wearing masks,” Abbott told Channel 6. “What you saw in that picture is different from the way schools in Texas are supposed to open up.”