Winston Salem Times

A Davidson County Board of Education member said that he prefers Gov. Roy Cooper to consider reports from other countries where school reopenings have been successful. 

Trustee Neal N. Motsinger made his comments in a letter that was published on the Locker Room blog on July 6, which is part of the conservative think tank, John Locke Foundation.

Motsinger wrote his letter days before Cooper said that North Carolina schools could reopen with a mix of in-classroom learning at 50% capacity and online instruction or full remote learning. The final choice is up to the individual districts. 

"I hope before making a decision on how and if schools open in the fall, Gov. Cooper looks at other countries that have opened schools and even to what has happened in New York City," Motsinger wrote. "As reported on a national news show Thursday, June 25, both France and Belgium have sent kids back to school with no significant increase in COVID-19 cases among students."

Though New York City schools have not reopened, Motsinger said that YMCAs in NYC providing childcare for essential workers have not resulted in any positive COVID-19 test. 

However, some states like North Carolina recently started to provide more data about COVID-19 cases related to children and places such as schools and care centers. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services started to include this information on its COVID-19 tracker website at the end of June.  

Motsinger also took issue with Cooper's abrupt closing of schools statewide without guidance going forward, which was a common theme across the country in March. 

"First I think we should look at Gov. Cooper’s decision to close schools as he announced at a news conference held on Saturday, March 14. Gov. Cooper decided to close schools on the 14th without any advance notice to school districts across the state," Motsinger wrote.