Print William Carter and Tyler Waldman, WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and FM 101.5
State schools Superintendent Karen Salmon said Thursday there s no reason schools in central Maryland can t reopen safely.
“I don’t understand why it is okay for teachers that are back in now, and not okay for teachers in the central part of the state,” Salmon said. “The evidence we have of the impact of no schools for kids is devastating.”
Gov. Larry Hogan has urged school systems to offer every student the chance to return to in-person learning by March 1. Speaking to C4 and Bryan Nehman, Salmon said that 17 school systems plan to return around that date.
Gov. Larry Hogan and the head of the state s teachers union are in the middle of a war of words.|| Coronavirus updates | Maryland s latest numbers | Get tested | Vaccine Info ||Even as Hogan calls for patience and teachers say they re ready and willing to get coronavirus vaccine shots when they become available.The teachers union says it s eager for schools to reopen, but it s also asking to become a part of the conversation in making sure that happens.Much like most of the public, Cheryl Bost, president of the Maryland State Education Association, says thousands of Maryland teachers want shots but can t get them. “We need to get our educators vaccinated so we can open to in-person learning in our schools,” Bost said.It s an issue that s divided Hogan, state school Superintendent Karen Salmon and the teachers union. Over the past week, both sides have traded toughly worded letters.On Tuesday, Bost sent a scathing letter to Hogan and Salmon over their calls to reopen schools