Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
PULLMAN – Four students took the school board to task Wednesday night for failing to get them back on campus.
The governor and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have called for in-person learning.
The Pullman School District is among the last holdouts generally keeping students off-campus in Whitman County.
During a digital school board meeting, students Collin Bannister, Maddie Weber, Maxwell Cordova and Hanna Talbot called on the board to get school campuses open and operating.
“My peers and I are here tonight because we need in-person school,” Bannister said. “We’re not getting the equitable, in-person education we have a right to.”
Bannister is a Colfax resident who’s enrolled in Pullman schools.
He chastised the School Board for being “weak-kneed” when it comes to returning students to campus.
“We could’ve opened in August and October, when the numbers were far lower,” he said. “But you did not follow the science.”
Bannister pointed out that WSU students are returning, and yet, Pullman students remain behind a computer screen.
“In-person (learning) is essential to our mental health,” he said, noting the district’s distance learning program has failed.
“It just simply cannot be effective,” he said. “Open middle and high school for in-person learning. It’s safe.”
Weber called for the immediate return to on-campus education.
She said the School District’s move to keep students at home affected their mental health.
“Many struggle being away from school,” she said. “Shouldn’t we be doing what’s best for the students?”
According to Weber, students are being pushed into “places of loneliness and doubt.” Once vibrant students now lack motivation, she said.
“Why are we still closed?” she asked. “It’s time to consider the importance of returning to our normal lives … Open schools for the sake of our children.”
Cordova picked up where Weber left off.
“Children, especially those under middle school and high school age, are not the cardinal spreaders,” he said, when it was his turn to address the board. “I believe it would be a good idea to allow the schools to open up.”
In an emotional closing to the students’ presentations, Talbot said the stress of being off-campus this past year is taking more of a toll on students than any coronavirus.
“This year has been really hard for me,” the senior student said. “I have one semester left in high school and I’m still sitting behind a computer screen.”
Prior to closure of the school campus, Talbot said she was a cheerleader and athlete, as well as active in the Pullman High School Associated Student Body program.
“(Now) I only have graduation to look forward to,” she said.
During the same meeting, Superintendent Robert “Bob” Maxwell told the board he was working on a plan to move students back onto campus full-time.
According to Maxwell, that effort started at the beginning of January by getting K-3 students back on campus two days per week.
Fourth- and fifth-graders are expected to return to campus for the first time next Monday, he said.
Older students will be able to return to campus in the future through a phased-in approach, Maxwell added.
Roger Harnack is the co-owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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