ICYMI: As DeVos Traveled to Georgia for Photo Op, Paulding School Nurse Hit Trump for Reckless School Reopening

Yesterday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visited Forsyth County Public Schools during day two of the Republican National Convention for a photo-op to discuss safely reopening schools — despite surging outbreaks in schools across the state and no real plan from the federal government to ensure schools have the supplies they need to ensure students, teachers and staff are safe. 

Georgia has the second-highest rate in the nation for COVID spread, and multiple school systems have seen case numbers surge after returning in person. Forsyth County itself had over 600 students quarantined for exposure to the coronavirus during the first week of school. 

Amy Westmoreland, a school nurse who recently resigned due to coronavirus concerns in Paulding County Schools, spoke with 11Alive’s La’Tasha Givens. 

KEY EXCERPTS

11Alive: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visits Forsyth County school Tuesday

By Michael King

• But across the metro – in another district that decided to welcome students back to in-person learning – former Paulding County school nurse and mother Amy Westmoreland rebuked the secretary’s stance.

• “I really don’t think she has a right to even be here considering that she was part of the problem. She was with the agreement of opening schools,” Westmoreland said.

• The nurse resigned from her position with the Paulding County School District over the summer because she said she was concerned about the safety for students and staff, something she said was made backed up in now-viral photos from inside one of the district’s high-schools showing students crowded in a hallway.

• “So, as a nurse, do you think it’s safe to return to school in Georgia?” 11Alive asked. “No, absolutely not,” Westmoreland said.

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