Gov. Parson meets with Trump who says he’ll pressure states to reopen schools

(AP) President Trump says he will pressure governors to reopen schools and colleges this fall, arguing that some want to keep schools closed for political reasons against the will of families. Trump said he is “very much gong to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools.”

Trump did not immediately explain how he would pressure governors, but he repeated an earlier claim that Democrats want to keep schools closed for political reasons and not health reasons. Trump held a summit on Safely Reopening America’s Schools this afternoon as part of an all-out effort to get the nation’s schools to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson and K-12 Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven participated in that discussion. “I sit there and I think of all the kids that need to be in school. There are the ones that have the privilege of going everyday that’s almost common that we go to school for most of the school kids. But for a lot of kids it’s a safety blanket. It’s a way to get nutrition, it’s a way to get counseling, it’s a way for somebody to help them when they cry out for help,” said Parson. “That’s also why getting schools back open is so important. If you wanna take it one step further, it’s about making sure people are going to be qualified for the workforce of tomorrow. This virus cannot shut our country down and our states down. We have to deal with it.”

Parson has previously said they’ll leave it up to local school districts on exactly how to reopen.