In the eyes of the Sunshine State's governor, schools are comparable to home improvement and retail stores. Gov. Ron DeSantis' Home Depot comment was his defense for reopening classrooms next month. Some folks were upset with the comparison. "We spent months saying that there were certain things that were essential, and that included fast-food restaurants, it included Walmart, it included Home Depot, " DeSantis said at a press conference on Thursday. "If all that is essential, then educating our kids is absolutely essential. If you can do these things, we absolutely can do the schools," he added. The comparison of reopening businesses to educating kids didn't sit to well with folks on Twitter, who took to the social media site to, once again, criticize DeSantis for putting schools in the same category as a giant home improvement chain. "Does Ron DeSantis spend six hours in Home Depot and play tag with his fellow shoppers?" wrote one user. Another user put things in a more comical way to get his point across. "Did Ron DeSantis graduate from Home Depot U? Or Wal Mart Community College? AIR HIGH FIVE BRUH!" he tweeted. I cannot believe we already have 90k of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis comparing Home Depot and Walmart to our schools. This guy is in charge of the 3rd largest state with the largest population of susceptible to people. Please help us before he really does kill everyone! https://t.co/X5ZarZehm4— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) July 9, 2020 Both Home Depot and Walmart were considered "essential" businesses and were allowed to stay open during the pandemic's height. Now, DeSantis uses the reopening to justify the state's executive order that forces school districts to reopen to in-person learning.Some teachers and parents across the state shared their concern by the announcement, citing the state's continued spike in COVID-19 case counts as a huge reason to push back the start date of Florida's K-12 schools. Florida @GovRonDeSantis just now at a press conference: "If you can do Home Depot, if you can do Walmart, you can definitely do the schools."Can someone please tell him that allowing people to "do Home Depot and Walmart" in his state is the reason he has a COVID-19 crisis.— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) July 9, 2020 An online petition has been circulating, pleading with DeSantis and state education commissioner Richard Corcoran to reconsider the August start date. Teachers across the state were given a raise last month as part of the $92 billion budget the governor signed, but now some are wondering if a paycheck is worth risking their lives in order to educate children. This week, Comm. @RichardCorcoran signed an Emergency Order requiring all FL’s schools to reopen in the fall & be ready to serve #FLstudents 5 days a week, while also creating equitable alternative opportunities for students w/ medical vulnerabilities. https://t.co/VX0ceSuIOZ— Florida Department of Education (@EducationFL) July 8, 2020 School districts are considering a mix of in-person and virtual learning to combat the spread.
