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Broward County Public Schools To Revisit Return To Campus Plan Ahead Of Schedule

BROWARD (CBSMiami) – Broward County Public Schools has shifted its position a bit, vowing to reconsider a return to school buildings weeks ahead of originally scheduled.

The school board is hearing parents, who want their kids back in school buildings as soon as possible.

"We will continue to watch the spread and will revisit on October 1st," said Superintendent Robert Runcie.

With the start of the virtual school year closing in quickly, the focus of Tuesday's Broward School Board meeting was yet again on distance learning.

"All of us desperately want our schools to reopen, and meeting the critical need of our students," said Runcie.

But this meeting didn't just focus on the push for federal aid, rapid testing, contact tracing and student engagement. It also focused on the calendar.

"What I'm going to ask is we remove the reference to October 1st and instead say, 'We can provide a biweekly update to the board,'" said Broward School Board Chair Donna Korn.

That October 1st date in the original plan as a date to reconsider distance learning and reopening schools.

"That date scared a lot of people. We are going to need to promise we make data driven decisions," said Korn.

The data shows over the last two weeks an average 10.4% positivity rate.

The superintendent says recommendations are that number be at 3% before schools can reopen.

"We want our kids in school as soon as possible," said Runcie.

For some members, they couldn't agree more as they are concerned students will leave the district all together.

"I don't want to see people leaving us because of this. I get what you're saying, but I don't buy the mass exodus. If they are going to leave they are going to leave. We are going to start school as early as we can," said Runcie.

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