Open the Danged Schools!!! Kevin Faulconer Talks to Armstrong & Getty

So you're turned out. I know, how how much longer do you stay in office? I'll have a two more months and then, not that anybody's counting. Do you have your cardboard box ready for when they march you out with your personal effects? We'll start We'll start getting ready soon. But take a lot of toner from the copy or that's what I would do. So different places all around the country have different school situations. Someplace or open, some places or closed. What's the situation in the San Dieo

Diego area currently? Yeah, they're trying to bring back some of the folks at this point, Um and I've been pushing real hard. Look, we need our schools open, We need we open for for all the kids. And you know, we want a safe environment for obviously for teachers, for parents, for the kids. But but the reality is, you know, distance learning is not the same as in person learning with a teacher. It doesn't work hardly at all. It's a disaster now it is. It's not working, and I

think you've seen that across the board. And so one of the things that I've been pushing on very strongly here in San Diego is to try to get everybody around the table, whether it's you know, the teachers, whether it's folks on the district working with people from the state, you know, pushing very hard to getting us locations, to getting us to testing. I want to take everything, you know, any possible barrier off the table because I want kids

in the classroom now. I want the teachers to be able to provide the in classroom instruction because as each month that we go by, I think the reality is our kids are gonna fall further and further behind in California, certainly, and that's not something anybody wants to see. Well, And the data is so solid at this point that schools, particularly elementary elementary schools have not become super spreaders. They're just not. So what's the argument for keeping the school's closed? What,

what's what are you up against? Well, look, I think it's it's just exactly that you're looking at other schools that have started to safely reopen. I think that's incredibly important because then you have some real world experience. And so from my standpoint, it's about let's let's make sure that we're taking the you know, the hyperbole off the table. Let's have communication, Let's get everybody around the table, let's

have trust. But let's agree all of us that the best thing for kids is to get them back in the classroom. And and you know what, guys, I'll tell you. I talked to a lot of teachers out there. They're ready to go back and I and they want to be back in the classroom and I and I get that, And so I think we need to we need to keep pushing. Uh. Look, not not only am I a mayor, I'm a parent, and and so we we need to we need to do a lot different than we are with one goal. How do we get our how do

we get our kids back in the classroom. And you know, and we talk a lot about obviously economic development, reopening our economy, doing it safely. That's absolutely dependent upon kids being back in school. With all of the challenges that our parents are facing day in and day out about childcare and other things. So is one of the biggest issues that we have to hit head on with a sense of urgency, such a urgency that says, it's been too long, let's get our kids back and let's get

our schools open. Right. For the listeners who may not know the mayor's act, he is a he is a reasonable man, he is a dealmaker. He's an non bomb schucker. That's why he's not kicking the teachers unions right now. But we'll we'll do that after he gets off the air. Um. So, yeah, we all agree that we need to get the economy up and running in a total shutdown is just not doable.

Do you have any any thoughts on the SNY Unified School District's new plan to essentially eliminate grades and behavior standards of behavior And I think that makes no sense. I think what as we've been talking about, let's not talk about stuff like that. Let's talk about kidding our schools open. And so when we're distracting doing you know a lot of stuff like that, it takes our focus off the ball. Uh And and and our focus should be getting kids back in the classroom, not changing the

grading standards. And you do agree that that sort of thing is incredibly demeaning toward minority children, essentially telling them you can't possibly achieve academically. So we're not even gonna grade you. Look, we we got to make sure that we're teeting everybody equal. I mean, I think that's that's

the point. Uh. And a place at schools, you know, norm place other than schools, where everybody understands that they've should and will be treated equally, and that children understand the importance of hard work, children understand the importance of hitting the deadline, children understands the importance of in acting, you know, the right way with other other kids and their and their teachers. And so lookay, and you don't learn those lessons if you're not back in school, right.

So yeah, here here, I'm just we've got to get them back in and get our get our teachers back and get everybody learning. I'm so confused by this controversy at this point. I understand when it was all theoretical on both sides, schools should be open, school should be closed. But now all the data is on the side of them being open. I'm looking up at Good Morning America with yet another story report finds little evidence that schools

are main drivers of transmission. There. That's Good Morning America for good as the science is on your side, our side, I don't even understand what the other side of the argument is now. San Diego Mayeric Kevin Faulkner's on the line right now. Kevin, I'm sorry to cut you off. We just have limited time, and I wanted to touch on a couple of a couple of other things, including San Diego doing a pretty good job with an enormous

homeless challenge. Um both the righteously unfortunate, mentally ill, also a lot hell of a lot of junkies and bums who just can't get their lives together. What's the current plan. Well, we've been, uh, we've been putting a pretty aggressive stance on I really helping people and making sure folks are not on the sidewalks and on the streets. San Diego County only Kent, major urban county in California where homelessness

has gone down the last two years in a row. Uh, And I've made it really, I do not allow tent encampments on our sidewalks in San Diego are in our canyons. That is not compassionate, that does not help people. And so the work that we've done to you know, transition folks out to get them in the shelter. And to your point, look, we're seeing a lot of folks that

have mental health and substance abuse issues. But saying to somebody, you can you know, stay in a tent in front of somebody's house or place of business is not who we are is Californians. That's certainly not who we are as San Diegans. And so we've been taking some pretty aggressive action. We've placed since the pandemic over seven hundred

folks and permanent housing. This has been a real focus of mine, and again it's about helping people, helping people for good, but not allowing the type of you know, ten cities and encampments that you see unfortunately in too many places in California in the West. We've taken a different approach in San Diego and it's paying dividends. I'm looking at this potential plan to buy a couple of

hotels using state, federal, and local money. But at the University of San Diego, professor Norm Miller said it works out to just under three sixty grand per rume. That sounds insane. Yeah, I was a lot less than that. And I'm not sure where that person got there. Some of their info are saying a professor who doesn't know what he's talking about at a university. I'm shocked. Well, you know, our abilly, I will tell you again, back to fast action. It takes too long to build anything

in California, gentlemen. Um with the cost of all of that, and so I really we've really tried to get creative in San Diego. Hey, are there some motels that you can convert that have kitchens? Again, get people off the street for good, uh, and to make sure that that is when when folks understand how we're doing this and the fact that people are staying off the street. You know, nobody's come back to me and said Mr Mary, I wish that tent was back out in front of my house,

cert in front of my business. We're you know, We've taken a dramatically different approach in San Diego, and it's one that I happen to believe is compassionate, because letting people sleep intents on your sidewalk is tantamount to letting them die on your sidewalks. And that's not what I'm gonna do in San Diego. San Diego, Mary Kevin and Faulkner Kevin, I'm going to part a company with you with three words, run for governor. Well, thank you. I will finish strong in a couple of months here and

I'll get back to you. All right, very good. It's always a pleasure. Thanks, Thank you. Guys are good to talk. You got it. Yeah, if I will tell you what I just Sometimes I talked to a guy like that, he's in a high office, and I think, oh, there is sanity. I'll be damned if I was in any negotiation though, on this whole school thing at this point, I would put it all on the other side. Make your argument for the school being closed. I don't need to make an argument for the school's being open. The

school's normal date is to be open. We educate children. That's what we do. We've always done it. Make your argument for why they should be closed. What is it? There isn't one. Somehow it's gotten all projective teachers, the teachers could get sick. Somehow, it's gotten all switched around where you have to make the argument for opening in like the default setting is closed, that's gone, all the studies are out there. What is your argument for the

schools being closed at this point? And I don't understand why we're letting them get away with it. Idaho had a had a sick in yesterday and they're doing it again today, where the schools are closed and there are calls for fire and all these people freaking go to work. It's an essential job. You don't want to do it, fine, we'll get somebody else to do it. It's your job. Person. The grocery store has to go in. They're making them go in, got making the pizza, has got to go in,

go in and freaking teach the kids. But they all called in sick yesterday. Unbelievable, you know. Interestingly enough the whole now we have to make the case for why the school should be open. And how bass ackwards that is. That's the thing of one of Tim Sanderford's great books, The Permission Society, which was inspired by conversations on this show oddly enough, in which the government has confiscated our

rights and is selling them back to us. You have to pay a permit to do something on your own property. What the hell is that? But we become accustomed enough to it that we have to beg We have to beg for the very schools we pay for to be open. Man, when Good Morning America is running a story on how the report finds there's no evidence that schools are spreading COVID, it's over. Yeah, open the dang school. Yeah. You know.

It happens to bureaucracies and structures and civilizations that they become more and more corrupt and less and less dedicated to accomplishing their purpose. Publication education in huge swaths of the United States is now too diseased to save. It is the dog that must be put down. There are tears to be shed, no doubt, because public education in the US for a long time was a pretty damn good thing. But in some play, to some states in particular,

it cannot be saved. There's too much cancer. You know, it keeps keeps popping into my head. The last couple of days. I wish I could debate Joe Biden, or at least I could, like whisper in Trump's year, I think that all the time. I think that all day long. Have this data on the studies of the schools across forty seven different states, and how it's not spreader, and really hammer Biden for being for keeping stuff closed, right,

I wish he would. Yeah, And like the cop unions to a large extent, and and firefighters unions, a lot of teachers they like what the union gets them, but boy, they hold their nose armstrong and getty