Since coronavirus COVID-19 flared up in China without warning and without any medical history as a guide. Things looked very, very bad. But, just as the coronavirus was moving fast, medical knowledge and awareness is moving fast too. Now we know the symptoms. Now we have determined and implemented better treatments, and even advancing every day. What should have been our strategic plan for protecting the most vulnerable of our population?
Since we know now that the older ones in our population are the most vulnerable to dye from the COVID-19 coronavirus, what should have been our plan. Just minutes ago, the first death from this new coronavirus in South Carolina was in a resident in an elderly care facility. No reports anywhere indicate a death of a child of school age. So, are our efforts totally misdirected and wasted??
It appears so. But now, the Democrat Political talking points are that “closing schools reduce the risk of kids catching COVID-19 and coming home to infect grandpa and grandma.” As a grandpa, I say “Don’t blame messing up our children’s education on me.” There are better ways of helping me and my higher risk of dying from COVID-19 that closing schools.
And, while we are figuring, what about the chaos caused by closing schools and the intended “intended” consequence. The ECONOMY is under attack.
You democrats among us might deny this but look at what is happening in Cleveland County right this minute:
15,000 school age kids 4 years old to 18 have been dumped from 29 daycare facilities around Cleveland County, our schools, onto the streets. It started today. With less than 14 hours’ notice. Each of those 15,000 kids have two parents and four grandparents. Even considering that some of those kids are brothers and sisters with the same parents, a conservative estimate would be at least 40,000 parents and grandparents are now involved in daycare functions because of having to be pressed into daycare functions. It is likely that less than 5,000 kids could have been absorbed into existing daycare facilities in such a short timeframe. But, even 5,000 more kids being in regular daycare raises the risk of them getting the COVID-19 coronavirus and passing it along to grandpa and grandma. Has any protection to the kids, parents, grandparents or anybody been increased by this harebrained school closing scheme???
Financial and Economic Disaster:
OK, So, let’s say only 35,000 working age folks today were pressed into some kind of daycare function, instead of going to work. That is over half of the entire workforce (around 62,000) in Cleveland County.
Over half the workforce being out of work because of the major disruptions caused by the School Closings is certain to take a huge economic hit to the family finances of the parents and grandparents. Many who cannot afford such a hit on their finances. Remember well over half of our schools are “free lunch” schools because of low family income. Now there is much more of a loss in family income. It will take some time to cipher all of this out, but the financial damage has got to be huge.
Now, let’s total up the damage that has been done closing:
1. Loss of Educational Time: Say the kids only miss 10 days of a 185-day schedule time $155 Million per year school budget = $8,378,378.38 lost. Double that for making up for lost time.
2. Lost wages: Say $25 per hour (remember, everybody got his by this school closing. Low income and high income alike) time 8 hours per day times 10 days times 35,000 workers = $2,000,000.
3. Lost business from companies and businesses in and around Cleveland County. Who knows how to even begin calculating that big of a loss amidst so many variables? Including potential bankruptcies from business failures.
If you total 1 and 2 from above, you get around $18.75 million for Cleveland County and $1,875 BILLION lost for all 100 counties of North Carolina. And, for what protection. Little to none is more likely.
I don’t know about you folks, but Governor Cooper wasting close to $2 Billion dollars in a Democrat scheme to try to make President Trump look bad is enough for me.
And, since I am in the exact center of the high-risk zone of this COVID-19 coronavirus fatality probability, and I still conclude the best thing to do is let the COVID19 coronavirus run its course and take my chances. (Which is going to happen anyway since there is no vaccine or miracle cures available. However, I will certainly wash my hands regularly and other common-sense things, but my highest risk of death is old age, traffic accidents, the flu and getting shot in a violent crime in Shelby. It is clear to me that staying out of Shelby as much as possible is the best defense that all of us Cleveland County residents have against untimely death. Even counting the chance that a space object might fall on our heads at noon tomorrow. Or the next day.
Plus, working to elect a new School Board majority that will not be stupid enough to allow CCS Superintendent Stephen Fisher the authority to ignore board Policies. And then brag, as Jo Boggs did, about how honest, trustworthy and informative Supt. Fisher is. Apparently forgetting that Fisher filed a $3 million lawsuit against Sheriff Alan Norman without telling Jo Boggs and most other Board members about it. Of course, it might just be possible (99.9999999%) that Jo Boggs lied about that. Not knowing about the lawsuit against the Sheriff. Watch the video of the Emergency Meeting and see the “Lovefest” the School Board showered down on Supt. Fisher. It’s for sure this School Board adores Fisher and his “designated liar” assignment to cover up for their stupidity, conflicts of interest and very often, downright corruption. Such as Former Chairman and Democrat “pal” Phillip “Bully” Glover’s Driving School. A planned scheme where two Driver’s Education Teachers have retired from CCS and their positions were not filled. Requiring parents to pay Glover $395 instead of the $65 fee for Driver’s Ed through CCS. With around 1,000 students per year eligible for Driver’s Ed. What a sweat deal for Glover and a forced scam for the parents. And, that is not even counting the surplus sales of expensive (like $5,000) food processing equipment where the power cords are cut off, listed as broken and then sold on Gov.Deals cheap (like maybe ($50) because no potential bidder can plug them in to see if the equipment will work.
Corrupt planning from the corrupt minds of corrupt people. Too regular an occurrence at CCS. Still going on large because the District Attorney refused to prosecuted anybody in the big school credit card fraud just a few years ago. WE gonna change that soon!!! Coronavirus, COVID-19, longtime culture of corruption or no-matter what!!
