North Columbus News

GOP candidate for governor Jim Renacci is pushing back against the the Columbus Education Association attempts to remove students for Columbus City School District classrooms and returned to virtual learning.

Six schools in the Columbus City Schools system, which serves 46,000 students, moved to online learning Jan. 12 due to a high number of staff absences, ABC 6 reported.

“If Mike DeWine won't call out the Columbus teachers' union and rally parents to fight back, then he should step aside and let someone who actually cares take the lead,” Jim Renacci said in press release.  

In a video, Gov. Mike DeWine suggested that children stay in class but wear masks throughout the day.

Renacci said DeWine has not gone far enough to advocate for students.

He noted his opposition to the teachers' union and criticized DeWine's perceived reluctance to take a strong stance on the issue.

“Ohio’s students have suffered enough and the data shows that,” Renacci said. “Lower test scores, depression, increase in hospital admissions for mental issues are all affecting our kids across the state. Another round of quarantining our kids and isolating them from the social and educational aspect of a brick and mortar school day will be devastating. This governor talks of science, then he should look at the impact all this has had on students for the last 21 months and start fighting for our children. It’s abuse. If Mike DeWine won't call out the Columbus teachers' union and rally parents to fight back, then he should step aside and let someone who actually cares take the lead.”

According to plentiful research, confinement and isolation accompanying virtual learning has had a negative impact on children, and standardized test scores have been lower on average than pre-pandemic.

Joe Knopp, Renacci's choice for lieutenant governor, said the damage being experienced by kids is real.

“I have seen first hand the impact this has had on my own kids,” Knopp said. “They are socially stunted. They had shown signs of withdrawing, and we said 'enough'. Ohioans are not willing to stand by and let our kids suffer. This is why Jim and I are in this fight. Keep our kids in school!”

President Joe Biden and his administration have said schools need to be open and students in their classrooms, the AP reported.

According to NBC 4, the Columbus Education Association is calling for temporary remote learning for two weeks. Several schools in the district have been in remote learning at various times since returning from winter break on Jan. 3.

The school system said the staff shortages are expected to continue.

“And we continue to face these issues for the foreseeable future due to the surge from the omicron variant,” Dr. Talisa Dixon, said during a CCS school board meeting, as reported by ABC 6. “... A portion of our school buildings have experienced a significant number of teacher and support staff who have called off, not just for COVID-related reasons but also for the typical flu and other sicknesses we would see at this time of the year.”