State legislators and school officials are raising concerns over Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to restart in-person learning in California public schools.
Newsom has proposed $2 billion to pay for testing, protective equipment and other safety enhancements to reopen the lowest grades as soon as Feb. 16.
At a state Senate hearing Thursday, state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, said that despite the fanfare around Newsom's goal of reopening next month, a host of disagreements over the plan remain.
"The fact of the matter is, what we're really saying is most schools won't open," Cortese said.
One big point of contention: A proposal for weekly testing of students. That's a high hurdle for superintendents like Shelly Viramontez of the Campbell Union School District.
“The requirement for the student testing really made no sense to me," Viramontez said.
State Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said the proposed grants of $450 per student wouldn't be enough to cover anything beyond the cost of the plan's testing requirements.
"I’m very concerned about what that’s going to mean and the requirements on districts just on the testing side to be able to make it work," McGuire said.
The Newsom administration says it's trying to pool testing to bring costs down.
Many teacher unions say COVID-19 cases are too prevalent to bring students back, while the Newsom administration says school outbreaks are rare.
The Legislature could begin voting on the plan next week.