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'No resources, just threats, bullying and bluster:' AFT president on Trump's handling of back-to-school

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden recently slammed President Donald Trump for his lack of leadership during the back-to-school season, a sentiment shared by the American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. She joined Yahoo Finance to discuss the union’s concerns about school re-openings.

“Joe Biden was right to call it a national emergency and to completely blame Trump for the lack of leadership and ... mishandling of all of this,” she said.

“We knew we needed the resources we knew we needed to tackle the virus first ... And what happened is that the president in July decides, [on Twitter] in all caps, ‘We must reopen schools.’ No plan, Betsy Devos is missing in action, no guidance,” she said.

The president of the second-largest teachers’ union in the U.S. tells Yahoo Finance that Trump’s behavior is unprecedented in U.S. history — and unpresidential.

“That’s never happened in any crisis in a Republican or Democratic administration: no resources, just threats, bullying, and bluster. And now in places like Georgia, Florida, Texas, where you saw this huge surge, now they're trying to actually cover up cases because they don't want people to know what the truth is,” she said.

Weingarten says that for schools to gradually reopen the nation needs to “invest in recovery” and work together. “Do not abandon America’s communities or forfeit America’s future. These interventions will require more—not less—investment in public health and in our schools, universities, hospitals, and local and state governments. Strengthening communities should be a priority in the recovery,” she said.

Wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID19, elementary school students wait for classes to begin in Godley, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Three rural school districts in Johnson County were among the first in Texas to head back to school for in person classes for students. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID19, elementary school students wait for classes to begin in Godley, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Three rural school districts in Johnson County were among the first in Texas to head back to school for in person classes for students. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

With federal lawmakers still unable to come together on a new coronavirus relief bill, Weingarten feels that state and local governments cannot bear the financial brunt of fighting and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in American schools.

“We represent 3,500 places in the United States, including most of the big districts, but we also represent a whole bunch of small districts and suburban districts. What you’re seeing is simple: GoFundMe pages for teachers trying to get soap for schools, trying to get PPE,” she said.

“The states are facing a 20% budget cut. So they’re not really prepared to do this. And frankly, the one criticism I have of the states and localities and school districts is that all of us spent too much time on the logistics as opposed to [focusing] on the instruction. And so now we have to have the professional development right now in the first few days of school to actually help teachers use all of this technology for teaching kids remotely,” she said.

The teachers’ union released its own guide that schools can follow during the COVID-19 pandemic: “Plan to Safely Reopen America’s Schools and Communities.”

Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.

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