It turns out that pandemics are very expensive and labor intensive for school systems – and it looks like that’s about to become even more so.
On Thursday, Oct. 21, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners will vote on whether to use about $3 million in federal pandemic relief funds to grant a request from county health officials that would mean hiring 50 full-time “School Health COVID-19 Coordinators.”
Those coordinators would work to help contain the virus in schools by doing things like contact tracing and supporting virus testing efforts.
While the positions would be full-time while they last, they would be “temporary” positions expected to go away at some point in the future.
In mid-September, the Board of Commissioners accepted $7.9 million in state and federal funds to battle COVID-19 and the board also accepted the guidelines that control the use of that money.
Information provided to the commissioners in their agenda packets states “Public Health is now requesting approval to hire up to fifty (50) full-time, time-limited, School Health COVID-19 Coordinators, using a portion of these approved funds for contact tracing and testing activities in the schools.”
The estimated cost to fund the 50 COVID-19 coordinator positions is $2.8 million for the current school year.
The Board of Commissioners has also been adding more school nurse positions to the Guilford County school system in response to the pandemic, and the board is also expected to add more school nurses at its October 21 meeting when the board will likely add the 50 COVID-19 coordinators.
A vote to approve the coordinator positions on October 21 is almost a certainty because items of this nature rarely make it onto the commissioners’ agenda unless there’s an understanding that the votes are there to approve it. Current Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston, who approves the the agenda, is quite adept at knowing ahead of time how votes will come out.
The COVID-19 coordinators “will assist in enabling schools to establish and expand COVID-19 screening testing programs to support and maintain in-person learning.”
This funding has an initial end date of May 31 of next year, however, that date could be extended.
When you talk about “federal funds” or “state money” you should say OUR money. It comes out of our pockets. Neither the state nor the feds can spend even a dime without taking it from us.
And did you say “temporary” jobs? If Covid disappeared in a week, the county would find some excuse to keep them on forever. Government never shrinks. It only expands.
Case counts are dropping exponentially in every weekly report, yet the libs are wound tighter and tighter and screaming the sky is falling.
Our schools are crumbling, are lacking in support staff, and have huge actual security issues but Skip and his Cabal are focusing on spending relief money on coordinators. Our schools are filled with hungry children and violence and all they will be getting is a heavy dose of Big Brother type medical survellience.
I agree. With the pandemic slowing and infections not directly impacted the kids (teachers certainly were at risk early on), this feels like a waste of funds giving the timing. Would have been impactful last year if it sped up reopening schools to better help working parents.
Fix the security cameras that don’t work across the majority of schools. That is a real problem that is an issue today!
Our entire government ran school concept just needs to be bulldozed and reset.
This IS, BB in(action). Permanent BB meddling.
Skip et al get more stupid by the day! Schools need many things; one thing they don’t need is 50 COVID-19 Coordinators! That money could be used more wisely in other areas. Unfortunately you can’t describe most of these so-called leaders as wise.
More wasteful spending. Use the money for security. Replace the security bond money spent on other things
$56,000 for supporters, friends, and family?. Probably already picked out?
No end in sight.
Notice this only funds these positions for the remainder of the current school year. Do you really need to pay the people $112k each in salary & benefits to do something that the way too top heavy administration at GCS could handle at NO ADDITIONAL COST by rearranging duties a bit. Completely ridiculous.
Contreras can waste more money than a trust fund baby in Vegas……. And our schools are still crap. Rather than 50 teachers, speech therapist – who will be needed following 2+ years of masks along with an autism team at every elementary school, she can only dream up hiring 50 “Covid-19 coordinators”?? What a joke.
Parents sending their kids to public school in Guilford County deserve the future adult couch basement living leeches they are raising. A simple vote for school choice, a thought put into the school board vote, or a vote for Dan Forrest would save them from “raising” life long dependents with no knowledge and zero social skills.
Last November did they vote for their kids future? Nope, a majority of Guilford County parents voted woke, which means in retirement they will be broke.
I put three kids through Guilford county public school and they are doing great. One has made a career in the US Navy, another is an engineer, and the third is currently applying for pre-med at our State Universities. The schools while not perfect met the needs with a little support from mom and dad.
Must be a parenting thing on your end Momof2.
Deborah,have you noticed the total lack of confidence the parents of school age children have in our Superintendent of schools and our wonderful county commissioners. These people are just like the nincomputs/dingalings that are in Washington screwing up the US.The total cabinet people of this president is soooooo farrr out that it’s a wonder they can even make it Home at night.They along with our locals are running our country into the ground.
If the local voters know the problem,do you think they are smart enough to solve it at the next election by voting these rascals out of office.If not these locals will be just as dumb as these politicians.
Youre right. If Contreras stays in long enough, the kids will be snorting what’s left off a hooker’s @$$ in Vegas.
This is why I will vote NO on each and every bond issue the schools and County bring to voters for as long as they beg for more money for schools. The waste of funding is constantly observable. Holes covered with rotting wood are blamed on lack of funding when it’s an obvious lack of planning, while money is spent on paying for programs that are of little to no benefit for students.