The largest school district in Iowa is defying the orders of republican Governor Kim Reynolds to conduct in-person classes despite threats by Reynolds to withhold millions of dollars in state funding, the Associated Press reports.
Iowa has experienced a recent spike in cases, with its seven day running average increasing daily over the past week. Des Moines currently has a 12% positivity rate for coronavirus testing earlier this month; it currently stands at 7%.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends closing down if positivity rates are 5% or above. Reynolds, however, set the benchmark at 15% for Iowa schools to reopen.
Despite the increase in cases, Reynolds has called the Des Moines School Board decision “unacceptable.” Reynolds’ order demands that all 327 school districts hold at least half of their classes in-person.
Reynolds has threatened to withhold some state funding for schools that do not reopen. She has also stated days which have online only education, meaning that districts would have to make up the days at the end of the school year. For Des Moines, that would require spending $1.5 million per day to extend the year.