Clint Didier thinks a committee will open Tri-Cities schools faster. He’s wrong | Editorial

Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier is mistaken if he thinks a local committee would have more sway over Tri-City school boards than our own Benton Franklin Health District officer.

He wants to create a panel of community members and health experts — including a psychiatrist — to join Dr. Amy Person in making recommendations to school officials as they consider when and how to fully reopen classrooms.

Adding another layer of bureaucracy isn’t going to help the process. If anything, it could make it more confusing and divisive.

Dr. Person does not work in a vacuum — especially during the COVID pandemic. She is in constant contact with state health officials, and already consults with a variety of experts before making recommendations to Benton and Franklin counties.

She was supportive of schools opening up in some capacity last October as long as safety measures were in place. She recognized the benefits of in-person learning, and acknowledged that being in the classroom helps students with their social and emotional development.

Guess what? Despite her recommendation and pressure from parents and students, school officials decided to wait. We don’t see how putting a local committee into the mix would have made a difference.

In addition to listening to the community and to Dr. Person, school officials also have to work with their staff, employee unions, and consult with attorneys and insurance carriers.

Eventually, the Kennewick, Richland and Pasco school districts partially opened up for in-person learning earlier this year and have been examples for the rest of Washington state.

In fact, their success helped with Gov. Jay Inslee’s recent proclamation ordering all school districts to offer in-person instruction on at least a part-time basis beginning next month.

Two weeks ago, Inslee visited Robert Frost Elementary school in Pasco as part of his effort to get kids back in the classroom and assure citizens there is a safe way to make it happen.

And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now revised its physical distancing recommendations for K-12 schools. Instead of keeping students 6 feet apart in the classroom, the CDC is recommending a 3-foot distance.

That is huge news. It means if state health officials adopt the new CDC guideline, more students can fit in the classroom at the same time, which will increase the opportunity for more in-person learning.

Tri-City school districts are already prepping for that.

With progress like this already on the horizon, a local committee with no decision-making power isn’t necessary.

Didier told Dr. Person at the March 17 Benton Franklin Health District Board meeting that, “I don’t think it is fair that you have to shoulder all this responsibility.”

He said he is concerned about the mental health of students and that, “We have a crisis on our hands, and the crisis is suicide.”

There is no question that many kids have struggled with on-line learning during COVID, and that we have tragically lost young people to suicide during the pandemic.

It’s heartbreaking.

But while the COVID-19 lockdown was incredibly stressful and caused concerns about suicides, Tri-Cities statistics show — thankfully — that we didn’t see an alarming surge.

In Benton County, the number of deaths by suicide actually went down, dropping from 38 in 2019 to 34 in 2020 and below the 12-year high of 47 in 2017.

In Franklin County, the number of suicides increased from four in 2019 to eight in 2020. However, there also were eight suicides in Franklin County in 2018.

Tri-City parents are anxious to see schools fully open up, and Didier is trying to be responsive to those parents, which is understandable.

But creating a committee with no decision-making power isn’t the answer.

Dr. Person has been doing a fantastic job guiding the Tri-Cities through one of its most challenging years. Forcing her to work with a committee in addition to the other experts she is in contact with will only add to her load.

And a committee won’t open up schools any faster, or keep them from closing again if there’s another crisis.

This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 12:44 PM.