This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom remarked to CNN during an interview, “I’ve been living through Zoom school and all of the challenge related to it,” adding, “It’s brutal.”
Newsom was interviewed by CNN’s Jake Tapper, who offered, “You talked about schools reopening; you set this April 1 goal to reopen classrooms for young children by offering financial incentives for schools. When do you expect most students, K through 12, to return to in-person learning and what do you see as the single most important hold-up to that happening, since we have seen so much science suggesting that with masks and with ventilation, et cetera, there’s no reason for schools to be closed?”
“Look, I’ve been a strong advocate for safely getting our kids back in-person for instruction,” Newsom replied. “I have four young kids myself; I’ve been living through Zoom school and all of the challenge related to it.”
Tapper, supporting Newsom, commented, “That’s brutal.”
Newsom continued, “Put out a detailed proposal to our legislature,” then he repeated Tapper’s comment, “It’s brutal.”
Newsom did not tell CNN viewers, however, that his children have been enrolled in private school.
“The governor in late October revealed that his kids’ Sacramento private school was ‘phasing out’ of virtual learning in favor of a hybrid approach. Students returned to the classroom full-time in November,” The Washington Free Beacon reported.
Although the report says that Newsom’s children have been full-time since November, Newsom was saying by early December that his children’s school had “shut down again” after briefly opening for in-person learning. According to Politico, Newsom’s children were back to in-person learning as of mid-February, but it’s not clear how long they have been attending in-person.
More from the Washington Free Beacon:
Newsom’s “Zoom school” experience stands in stark contrast to that of most California families. Nearly all Sacramento-area public schools were closed when the Democrat’s children resumed in-person learning. And while a majority of California public schools are now set to open their doors by early April, many districts are limiting in-person instruction to just one or two days a week in order to receive state funding under Newsom’s reopening plan.
Marcelino Valdez, who founded a Fresno organization to get children back in schools, told the Free Beacon, “It’s hard for him to relate to parents like myself and the 500-plus members of our group who have kids in public school. He’s had his kids in private school. It’s a real lack of understanding and a lack of leadership on his part.”
Reopen California Schools founder Jonathan Zachreson suggested that Newsom’s recent efforts to reopen schools are connected to the recall campaign against him that will likely be on the ballot. Zachreson stated, “He’s not trying to help kids in the state—he’s trying to pretend schools are open to campaign for his recall. That’s the incredible frustration parents are feeling.”
Newsom acknowledged on Tuesday that the recall “looks like it’s going on the ballot.”
On Wednesday, the organizers of the recall effort turned in the last batch of signature petitions to the registrars of California’s 58 counties on Wednesday. They need 1,495,709 valid signatures to qualify the recall election for the ballot. The registrars have until April 29 to verify the signatures and report their results to the California secretary of state, CNN reported.