Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the context of other reopening activities, not well (C-). If schools can't open, the administration needs to demonstrate they are serious about getting us to the point where schools can open (e.g., stop all indoor dining).

Outdoor pools are closed but you can go to church with 70 friends and grab a bite to eat being served by a waiter that's been in close contact with fellow waitstaff all day.

Things need to make more sense and priorities need to be clearer.

I agree. The priorities are not clear. I think they should have prioritized a return to school, even hybrid, which would mean shutting down indoor dining, bars, gyms, and larger gatherings to reduce community spread. It also would have meant stockpiling PPE, tests, and other necessary supplies for schools, and creating a real plan for how school would work and how schools would deal with COVID cases among students and staff.

Everyone is winging it, I get that, and I think that DC government has done a decent job of listening to scientists and public health experts, but the decisions being made now don't make a lot of sense to me.

A thousand times this

Why should they have prioritized schools? There are over 700k people living in this city and only a quarter of them have children let alone children in DCPS.
I think the mayor no matter how much she wanted to make schools a number one priority she couldn’t because they aren’t. Schools are certainly in the top 5 but they’re not #1. A simple look at the past of public education could tell you that.
I’m honestly not sure why people are surprised.

I’d rate her a B- and the chancellor a C+

Because even before I had kids, it sucked when DCPS had a snow day and my co-workers had to come late/leave early/generally scramble.

Between people who have kids, kids themselves, everyone who works in schools, everyone who contracts with schools (service providers), and everyone who is tangentially affected by schools, you have a HUGE portion of what's needed to keep the economy going. And you know, keep people sane.

Bowser is in a hugely tough spot, and I appreciate much of what she's done. But the ReOpen DC plan clearly said Phase 2 = hybrid school reopening. If it turns out that's not safe or doable, fine. But then maybe we shouldn't be in Phase 2. Maybe we should reevaluate all the other allowable things too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was generally supporting in April and May that she took a relatively conservative approach but it feels like the reopening has been botched. Super frustrating that we linger in phase 2 hell with no sign of moving forward.

In particular the continued lack of public services is really frustrating. Why are there only a few libraries are open and those only allow 2 people in at a time? Why is it impossible to get an appointment at the DMV for many, many months? Why were no splash parks or pools open all summer? Being in a library involves less exposure than in-person dining but for some reason that is being subject to much stricter occupancy limits making it difficult for residents to access much needed services.

Or, if its too risky for people to get books or for the DMV to provide basic services, then lock everything back down.

It’s clear that schools are a complete screwup, but its not an isolated thing. It’s part of a pattern of a larger problem. [/quote




I wouldn’t go to a library. Have you seen the news articles about the outbreaks of Covid in the librarians? The city is trying to cover it up but the Washington City Paper has covered it.

Bowser has done nothing to solve the increasing number of cases and the increased community spread. It makes no sense.

Yeah, the libraries are a mess. That was one of the things that really made me relieved at the decision not to reopen schools in September. The libraries have seen an alarming number of cases, librarians are reporting how challenging it has been to get people to comply with masking and social distancing rules, and the library administration has not been honest or responsive about the problems. DCPS would be this on a bigger scale.

I get frustrated because some of Bowser's initiatives are good. The mask mandate, the travel quarantine requirement (though voluntary), the big ramp up in testing -- all of that is good. But it's totally undercut by allowing in-person dining and other indoor services. You can't do this by half measures.

I was out for a run (wearing a mask) the other night and ran past a restaurant patio absolutely filled to the gills with people. The tables were all right next to each other, and each table had at least 5 people at it. Maybe some of those people were housemates but I doubt it -- I'm assuming they were mostly groups of friends from different households. And no one was wearing a mask. Not a single person. There must have been 50 people on that patio. Normally I don't worry much about outdoor transmission, but this was 50 people in extremely close proximity, under an awning, eating and drinking and laughing and yelling, all without masks.

I don't know how something like that is going on in a city where schools are closed, you are supposed to self-quarantine after travel, and where I am required to wear a mask while walking down the street. it makes no sense. and surely Bowser knows that.