Murphy Official Attempts to Dissuade Opponent of School Reopening

The following statement was written by Avram Rips of Newark NJ and posted to this Patch site on his behalf:

Reportedly, Monday, May 4th Governor Murphy will announce the decision to reopen or extend the current closure of NJ schools. Last Friday the number of cases in one day surpassed NY in number of fatalities at 311.The state is now 7,538 in total fatalities. This means NJ has one of the highest fatality rates in the country and more than NY. The Governor of NY has just announced closing the schools for the year there.

There have been many people under the assumption that Governor Murphy would not do such a thing as to open the schools and risk lives, as well as going against the science and lack of testing. This makes a potential opening of schools ludicrous but also disastrous to NJ families and children.

It has come to my attention from Deborah Cornavaca, a staff member of Governor Murphy’s office that indeed the announcement on Monday will be to open the schools albeit with some kind of precaution- disregarding lives and the growth of this devastating virus. This is through reading the quotes below- often business and profits come before lives. Ms. Cornavaca, who I know personally from past advocacy against school privatization in Newark reached out to me in response to my efforts to encourage local organizations and individuals to tweet and write to Governor Murphy to oppose the school reopenings.

The gist of her messages were two-fold:

1. To attempt to dissuade me in efforts to promote communications opposing school reopening. This is reprehensible for the governor’s office to attempt to control narrative and interfere with citizen and resident input to such a life and death decision. Also to convince me and others that the Governor’s office have considered health risks and the well being of the citizens. This comes especially at a time when there have been street protests by groups demanding an immediate full reopening and at a time when there is an assembly measure trying to restrict Governor Murphy’s emergency powers to close schools and businesses. Her attempt to control my participation actually assists those on the opposite side of the spectrum that are attacking and attempting to undermine the Governor’s ability to enforce distancing measures in addition to trying to remove our input to this life and death decision. With so many lives at stake the Governor’s office should be looking to hear from the public - not trying to curtail or control citizen and residential participation.

2. Her messages are revealing as to what the decision is going to be - that the schools will be reopened with some restrictions and supposed safety measures.

The following is the exchange between Ms. Cornavaca and myself, initiated by her:

Saw your post and have to say I’m not sure what led you to the conclusion about the decision on schools or the Governor. I hope you will wait to judge until you know what is being decided.

To which I replied: It’s absurd that something would be decided and even a date of the 15th. As you know the amount of testing and even Governor’s protocol shelter in place, which is great people aren’t following it, therefore an extreme increase of new cases if schools are not closed for the year. It certainly is urgent not to wait for an announcement but to write the Governor about this issue.

Ms. Cornavaca stated further:

Perhaps consider there are real implications for announcing something like ending the physical school for the year very early. People do not always understand all the calculus that go into a decision and clearly if you don’t trust the decision makers, it’s harder to give them the benefit of the doubt but I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that what has guided the decisions is the health, safety and outcomes for students and staff.

Me:There are serious implications for opening the schools especially that we are not nearly ready as you can see Cuomo wants to close NY Public Schools for the year. Fatalities are the implications for opening schools in May.

And finally from Ms. Cornavaca:

“I am not disagreeing. But I think you misread the situation. We are working in close tandem with regional partners. We have clearly demonstrated putting health and safety first to incredible sacrifice of so many. My point is, and I cannot change, the lens to which you come to this, is I think you will finds our decision to be one that continues to prioritize health and safety. Maybe in time we will earn some benefit of the doubt. Even trust.”

NJ has the second highest death tolls and now is reporting the highest daily death tolls in the nation. There are outbreaks among workers at Amazon and other workplaces throughout the state. NJ has the highest COVID-19 death rate among state prisons and the highest rate of COVID-19 infection among immigrant prisoners of NJ’s ICE facilities, and senior assisted living facilities have been ravaged with massive death.

The attempt by the Ms. Cornavaca in her capacity as staff person in Governor Murphy’s office to try to dissuade me, a private citizen from input to this situation - at a time when literally millions of lives can be lost from a bad decision by Governor Murphy is reprehensible and I reject her attempt to silence me. I am speaking out in spite of it.

Her statements also give rise to the belief that Governor Murphy might NOT be doing the right thing - they suggest that indeed NJ IS planning to reopen the schools - to the great detriment of the health and safety of not just the students, but their families, the whole citizenry and residency of the state and the population of the whole nation. A bad decision by Murphy right now can trigger similar bad decisions throughout the country and lead to literally millions of casualties.

On April 30, Murphy met with President Trump and they came to some agreement that will bring 500K test kits to NJ. As has been amply reported, Trump has sought quid pro quo arrangements with governors and has leveraged access to medical equipment and care to urge the governors to to support his policies including his demand that governors reopen their states - regardless of the death tolls we are suffering and the potential health impacts. It is likely that the quid pro quo arrangement is for NJ to open the schools before the end of the 2020 school year in June.

I reject the administration’s attempt to silence our voice. I will continue working with civic organizations, co-signers of a statement calling for "no reopening," the #WeWillDecide tendency, parents groups and others that are demanding to KEEP THE BRICK AND MORTAR SCHOOLS CLOSED THROUGH JUNE AND TO CONTINUE DISTANCED ON-LINE LEARNING in place.

I am providing information about this underhanded attempt to restrict our voices on this matter in an attempt to influence the decision - to clearly call upon Governor Murphy to state unequivocally that the school buildings not be reopened and that learning continue through distance on-line methods currently deployed. It is imperative that he make this decision and announce it immediately - millions of lives are in the balance.

CONTACT BOB WITANEK: 908-881-5275 or AVRAM RIPS: 973-885-5931