Murphy cautiously optimistic at the start of the school year

Credit: (AP Photo / Seth Wenig)

With his condition now in his third year of school affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the political stakes of this back-to-school period are higher than ever for Governor Phil Murphy.

The problem transcends his prospects for re-election in less than six weeks, as his handling of emotionally charged schools and families will surely play a big part in the ultimate dashboard of his response to the pandemic.

And at least so far, Murphy seems to breathe a sigh of relief.

The governor on Wednesday focused on the start of the school year in his latest pandemic briefing, and he said there were mostly encouraging signs after an uncertain summer when state guidelines were in full swing. mutation – if not downright confusing, some would say – and protests simmered over masking and vaccination warrants.

This does not mean that everything went well. Since the start of the year, at least seven schools have switched to distance learning due to outbreaks and subsequent quarantine requirements, three of which are still far away. (Another 13 schools closed due to damage from Tropical Storm Ida.)

Although the number of infections in schools in the state is modest, individual districts have reported hundreds of infections. And with cover-ups on their agendas, school board meetings in some cities have been controversial, to say the least.

But two weeks into the start of a new school year that could have gone both ways, Murphy was definitely adopting the half-full glass approach on Wednesday.

“It won’t be a straight line, we never thought it would,” Murphy said. “But given the big picture, up and down the state, it’s a good start.”

Mandates in place

As he has done in the past, Murphy and his senior staff have focused on vaccinations, with mandates for educators to be fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing already in place, starting October 18.

And there were hints that once vaccines were approved for all ages, such requirements might apply to students as well. State Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli led her comments by listing 10 vaccines currently required for students attending public schools, from polio to tetanus.

“Immunization is an essential tool that has been used to keep our schools safe for many years,” she said.

Such a mandate would of course come with political peril, and the rollout of vaccines for school-aged children has so far been mixed. Persichilli said 59% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 had received at least one dose, with the rate reaching almost 70% among those aged 16 and 17. But only about half of 12 to 15 year olds have received a dose.

More encouraging has been the state’s testing initiative, she said. More than 750 districts, charters and private schools have signed up to participate in a program in which the state pays districts $ 267 million to pay for their own tests of students and staff.

“This large number demonstrates the schools’ commitment to ensuring the safety of their students and staff,” she said.

It’s not the only money the state is putting forward right now, although much of it comes from the federal government. For the start of the year, the state has provided more than six million surgical and N95 masks to schools, officials said, with more to come.

The process of applying for more than $ 2.4 billion in federal COVID assistance also opens next week, aimed at meeting the needs of local districts to deal with education setbacks after many months of teaching. from a distance.

Districts can direct the funds to programs such as tutoring, summer schools or other additional initiatives, and mental health, officials said. The state is also providing an additional $ 48 million in grants specifically to strengthen mental health services for students and staff.

“I want to recognize the difficulty of the transition for some, but students and educators continue to show great determination in developing new tools to adapt,” said the Education Commissioner of the State, Angelica Allen-McMillan.