Not The Time Be Early

Mel Franklin

At-Large County Councilmember Mel Franklin Says Gov. Hogan’s Push To Reopen Prince George’s County Public Schools Comes Too Soon Against COVID-19 And Too Late For Season

By Mel Franklin

Mel Franklin is an At-Large County Councilman on the Prince George’s County Council

“As a father, proud public school parent, and elected official, I take the health and wellness of our community, especially our children, very seriously.  While the cases of COVID-19 have dramatically declined in our County, there is no COVID-19 vaccine yet available and we have seen spikes in several school districts throughout our nation due to premature decisions to reopen to in-person learning.  COVID-19 is still a danger to the lives of our residents, especially older family members and educators that our young people may encounter.  While I respect Governor Hogan’s desire to move back to in-person learning as soon as possible, we cannot responsibly do so at this time, especially since his reopening announcement today occurs just four days before the first day of school.  Our school system has spent months planning this fall’s virtual session.  It would be irresponsible to haphazardly discard those plans and throw our school semester into disarray.  I strongly support the decision of PGCPS CEO Dr. Monica Goldson and the Board of Education to continue with their plans for a virtual PGCPS learning semester.”