Flint Schools to pause in-person learning starting April 12, board member says

Flint, MI— Less than a month after students returned to classrooms, Flint Community Schools board member Danielle Green said April 6 that all in-person learning and athletics will be suspended beginning Monday, April 12, 2021. 

The district has yet to make the official announcement.

“My prayers have been answered,” Board Secretary Danielle Green said. “From the first vote in July, my vote has been a no. In spite of what the medical community was telling us about when we could go back, I disagree. This pandemic is new to us as well as them.” 

The board approved a 55-page plan to reopen schools as part of a requirement by the state to receive COVID-19 funding in July 2020. The plan outlined several safety protocols and mirrored Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s six-phase Return to School Roadmap, Superintendent Anita Steward said. 

The FCS Board of Education voted for students to resume in-person learning on Feb. 22, but after a tumultuous board meeting on Feb. 17 and concerns over sneeze guards, district officials announced that schools would not reopen as planned. 

After a two-week pause to allow for sneeze guard installation, FCS reintroduced students in two phases. Pre-k through 3rd grade returned March 15, while 4th through 12^th grade returned March 22. 

A recent report by the Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions shows the COVID-19 positivity rate in Genesee County has risen from 3.5% to 15.5%, an overall 12% increase for the month of March. 

The spike is attributed to youth 19 and under as well as team sports, health officials said.