Republican candidate for North Carolina superintendent of public instruction Catherine Truitt says how schools reopen should be made at the local level. | Catherine Truitt/Facebook
Republican candidate for North Carolina superintendent of public instruction Catherine Truitt says how schools reopen should be made at the local level. | Catherine Truitt/Facebook
The Republican candidate for the state superintendent of public instruction said that school districts should determine how to reopen not the state government.
Catherine Truitt's comments were made before Gov. Roy Cooper in July finalized that districts could reopen under a mix of in-class instruction and remote learning or offer full virtual education. North Carolina's schools are slated to start the new academic year in mid-August.
"It is imperative that we allow local leaders to make local decisions, that parents be engaged in the process, and that our re-opening plan gives students the hope they need to succeed," Truitt said in a statement on her website. "Then the state should respect whatever decision each school system makes and provide the support and guidance the system needs."
Truitt outlined a three-point approach to reopening schools, which is to let local leaders have control, include parents' voices and give students hope. She said her plan is based on recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"More than anything our children deserve hope," Truitt said in her statement. "Hope that they will receive a quality education, hope that they will have an equal opportunity for success, and hope that they will be treated fairly regardless of their socioeconomic status, race or gender. Sadly, the closing of schools due to COVID-19 has widened the gap between the have and the have-nots."
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