Speaker 1: The Armstrong and Getty Show, Open the Dang schools. We
Speaker 1: implore everyone we can get our hands on open the
Speaker 1: dang schools well. To discuss that and more, please welcome
Speaker 1: to the show. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulkner. San Diego
Speaker 1: largest city in the US with a Republican mayor. It
Speaker 1: is a fabulous city in which to live, work, in vacation,
Speaker 1: but like any other city, it has some pretty serious challenges.
Speaker 1: Mr Mayor, how are you, sir, gen? Good morning, Thanks
Speaker 1: for thanks for having me back. It's always a pleasure.
Speaker 1: So you're turned out. I know, how how much longer
Speaker 1: do you stay in office? I'll have a two more
Speaker 1: months and then, not that anybody's counting. Do you have
Speaker 1: your cardboard box ready for when they march you out
Speaker 1: with your personal effects? We'll start We'll start getting ready soon.
Speaker 1: But take a lot of toner from the copy or
Speaker 1: that's what I would do. So different places all around
Speaker 1: the country have different school situations. Someplace or open, some
Speaker 1: places or closed. What's the situation in the San Dieo
Speaker 1: Diego area currently? Yeah, they're trying to bring back some
Speaker 1: of the folks at this point, Um and I've been
Speaker 1: pushing real hard. Look, we need our schools open, We
Speaker 1: need we open for for all the kids. And you know,
Speaker 1: we want a safe environment for obviously for teachers, for parents,
Speaker 1: for the kids. But but the reality is, you know,
Speaker 1: distance learning is not the same as in person learning
Speaker 1: with a teacher. It doesn't work hardly at all. It's
Speaker 1: a disaster now it is. It's not working, and I
Speaker 1: think you've seen that across the board. And so one
Speaker 1: of the things that I've been pushing on very strongly
Speaker 1: here in San Diego is to try to get everybody
Speaker 1: around the table, whether it's you know, the teachers, whether
Speaker 1: it's folks on the district working with people from the state,
Speaker 1: you know, pushing very hard to getting us locations, to
Speaker 1: getting us to testing. I want to take everything, you know,
Speaker 1: any possible barrier off the table because I want kids
Speaker 1: in the classroom now. I want the teachers to be
Speaker 1: able to provide the in classroom instruction because as each
Speaker 1: month that we go by, I think the reality is
Speaker 1: our kids are gonna fall further and further behind in California, certainly,
Speaker 1: and that's not something anybody wants to see. Well, And
Speaker 1: the data is so solid at this point that schools,
Speaker 1: particularly elementary elementary schools have not become super spreaders. They're
Speaker 1: just not. So what's the argument for keeping the school's closed? What,
Speaker 1: what's what are you up against? Well, look, I think
Speaker 1: it's it's just exactly that you're looking at other schools
Speaker 1: that have started to safely reopen. I think that's incredibly
Speaker 1: important because then you have some real world experience. And
Speaker 1: so from my standpoint, it's about let's let's make sure
Speaker 1: that we're taking the you know, the hyperbole off the table.
Speaker 1: Let's have communication, Let's get everybody around the table, let's
Speaker 1: have trust. But let's agree all of us that the
Speaker 1: best thing for kids is to get them back in
Speaker 1: the classroom. And and you know what, guys, I'll tell you.
Speaker 1: I talked to a lot of teachers out there. They're
Speaker 1: ready to go back and I and they want to
Speaker 1: be back in the classroom and I and I get that,
Speaker 1: And so I think we need to we need to
Speaker 1: keep pushing. Uh. Look, not not only am I a mayor,
Speaker 1: I'm a parent, and and so we we need to
Speaker 1: we need to do a lot different than we are
Speaker 1: with one goal. How do we get our how do
Speaker 1: we get our kids back in the classroom. And you know,
Speaker 1: and we talk a lot about obviously economic development, reopening
Speaker 1: our economy, doing it safely. That's absolutely dependent upon kids
Speaker 1: being back in school. With all of the challenges that
Speaker 1: our parents are facing day in and day out about
Speaker 1: childcare and other things. So is one of the biggest
Speaker 1: issues that we have to hit head on with a
Speaker 1: sense of urgency, such a urgency that says, it's been
Speaker 1: too long, let's get our kids back and let's get
Speaker 1: our schools open. Right. For the listeners who may not
Speaker 1: know the mayor's act, he is a he is a
Speaker 1: reasonable man, he is a dealmaker. He's an non bomb schucker.
Speaker 1: That's why he's not kicking the teachers unions right now.
Speaker 1: But we'll we'll do that after he gets off the air. Um. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: we all agree that we need to get the economy
Speaker 1: up and running in a total shutdown is just not doable.
Speaker 1: Do you have any any thoughts on the SNY Unified
Speaker 1: School District's new plan to essentially eliminate grades and behavior
Speaker 1: standards of behavior And I think that makes no sense.
Speaker 1: I think what as we've been talking about, let's not
Speaker 1: talk about stuff like that. Let's talk about kidding our
Speaker 1: schools open. And so when we're distracting doing you know
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff like that, it takes our focus
Speaker 1: off the ball. Uh And and and our focus should
Speaker 1: be getting kids back in the classroom, not changing the
Speaker 1: grading standards. And you do agree that that sort of
Speaker 1: thing is incredibly demeaning toward minority children, essentially telling them
Speaker 1: you can't possibly achieve academically. So we're not even gonna
Speaker 1: grade you. Look, we we got to make sure that
Speaker 1: we're teeting everybody equal. I mean, I think that's that's
Speaker 1: the point. Uh. And a place at schools, you know,
Speaker 1: norm place other than schools, where everybody understands that they've
Speaker 1: should and will be treated equally, and that children understand
Speaker 1: the importance of hard work, children understand the importance of
Speaker 1: hitting the deadline, children understands the importance of in acting,
Speaker 1: you know, the right way with other other kids and
Speaker 1: their and their teachers. And so lookay, and you don't
Speaker 1: learn those lessons if you're not back in school, right.
Speaker 1: So yeah, here here, I'm just we've got to get
Speaker 1: them back in and get our get our teachers back
Speaker 1: and get everybody learning. I'm so confused by this controversy
Speaker 1: at this point. I understand when it was all theoretical
Speaker 1: on both sides, schools should be open, school should be closed.
Speaker 1: But now all the data is on the side of
Speaker 1: them being open. I'm looking up at Good Morning America
Speaker 1: with yet another story report finds little evidence that schools
Speaker 1: are main drivers of transmission. There. That's Good Morning America
Speaker 1: for good as the science is on your side, our side,
Speaker 1: I don't even understand what the other side of the
Speaker 1: argument is now. San Diego Mayeric Kevin Faulkner's on the
Speaker 1: line right now. Kevin, I'm sorry to cut you off.
Speaker 1: We just have limited time, and I wanted to touch
Speaker 1: on a couple of a couple of other things, including
Speaker 1: San Diego doing a pretty good job with an enormous
Speaker 1: homeless challenge. Um both the righteously unfortunate, mentally ill, also
Speaker 1: a lot hell of a lot of junkies and bums
Speaker 1: who just can't get their lives together. What's the current plan. Well,
Speaker 1: we've been, uh, we've been putting a pretty aggressive stance
Speaker 1: on I really helping people and making sure folks are
Speaker 1: not on the sidewalks and on the streets. San Diego
Speaker 1: County only Kent, major urban county in California where homelessness
Speaker 1: has gone down the last two years in a row. Uh,
Speaker 1: And I've made it really, I do not allow tent
Speaker 1: encampments on our sidewalks in San Diego are in our canyons.
Speaker 1: That is not compassionate, that does not help people. And
Speaker 1: so the work that we've done to you know, transition
Speaker 1: folks out to get them in the shelter. And to
Speaker 1: your point, look, we're seeing a lot of folks that
Speaker 1: have mental health and substance abuse issues. But saying to somebody,
Speaker 1: you can you know, stay in a tent in front
Speaker 1: of somebody's house or place of business is not who
Speaker 1: we are is Californians. That's certainly not who we are
Speaker 1: as San Diegans. And so we've been taking some pretty
Speaker 1: aggressive action. We've placed since the pandemic over seven hundred
Speaker 1: folks and permanent housing. This has been a real focus
Speaker 1: of mine, and again it's about helping people, helping people
Speaker 1: for good, but not allowing the type of you know,
Speaker 1: ten cities and encampments that you see unfortunately in too
Speaker 1: many places in California in the West. We've taken a
Speaker 1: different approach in San Diego and it's paying dividends. I'm
Speaker 1: looking at this potential plan to buy a couple of
Speaker 1: hotels using state, federal, and local money. But at the
Speaker 1: University of San Diego, professor Norm Miller said it works
Speaker 1: out to just under three sixty grand per rume. That
Speaker 1: sounds insane. Yeah, I was a lot less than that.
Speaker 1: And I'm not sure where that person got there. Some
Speaker 1: of their info are saying a professor who doesn't know
Speaker 1: what he's talking about at a university. I'm shocked. Well,
Speaker 1: you know, our abilly, I will tell you again, back
Speaker 1: to fast action. It takes too long to build anything
Speaker 1: in California, gentlemen. Um with the cost of all of that,
Speaker 1: and so I really we've really tried to get creative
Speaker 1: in San Diego. Hey, are there some motels that you
Speaker 1: can convert that have kitchens? Again, get people off the
Speaker 1: street for good, uh, and to make sure that that
Speaker 1: is when when folks understand how we're doing this and
Speaker 1: the fact that people are staying off the street. You know,
Speaker 1: nobody's come back to me and said Mr Mary, I
Speaker 1: wish that tent was back out in front of my house,
Speaker 1: cert in front of my business. We're you know, We've
Speaker 1: taken a dramatically different approach in San Diego, and it's
Speaker 1: one that I happen to believe is compassionate, because letting
Speaker 1: people sleep intents on your sidewalk is tantamount to letting
Speaker 1: them die on your sidewalks. And that's not what I'm
Speaker 1: gonna do in San Diego. San Diego, Mary Kevin and
Speaker 1: Faulkner Kevin, I'm going to part a company with you
Speaker 1: with three words, run for governor. Well, thank you. I
Speaker 1: will finish strong in a couple of months here and
Speaker 1: I'll get back to you. All right, very good. It's
Speaker 1: always a pleasure. Thanks, Thank you. Guys are good to talk.
Speaker 1: You got it. Yeah, if I will tell you what
Speaker 1: I just Sometimes I talked to a guy like that,
Speaker 1: he's in a high office, and I think, oh, there
Speaker 1: is sanity. I'll be damned if I was in any
Speaker 1: negotiation though, on this whole school thing at this point,
Speaker 1: I would put it all on the other side. Make
Speaker 1: your argument for the school being closed. I don't need
Speaker 1: to make an argument for the school's being open. The
Speaker 1: school's normal date is to be open. We educate children.
Speaker 1: That's what we do. We've always done it. Make your
Speaker 1: argument for why they should be closed. What is it?
Speaker 1: There isn't one. Somehow it's gotten all projective teachers, the
Speaker 1: teachers could get sick. Somehow, it's gotten all switched around
Speaker 1: where you have to make the argument for opening in
Speaker 1: like the default setting is closed, that's gone, all the
Speaker 1: studies are out there. What is your argument for the
Speaker 1: schools being closed at this point? And I don't understand
Speaker 1: why we're letting them get away with it. Idaho had
Speaker 1: a had a sick in yesterday and they're doing it
Speaker 1: again today, where the schools are closed and there are
Speaker 1: calls for fire and all these people freaking go to work.
Speaker 1: It's an essential job. You don't want to do it, fine,
Speaker 1: we'll get somebody else to do it. It's your job. Person.
Speaker 1: The grocery store has to go in. They're making them
Speaker 1: go in, got making the pizza, has got to go in,
Speaker 1: go in and freaking teach the kids. But they all
Speaker 1: called in sick yesterday. Unbelievable, you know. Interestingly enough the
Speaker 1: whole now we have to make the case for why
Speaker 1: the school should be open. And how bass ackwards that is.
Speaker 1: That's the thing of one of Tim Sanderford's great books,
Speaker 1: The Permission Society, which was inspired by conversations on this
Speaker 1: show oddly enough, in which the government has confiscated our
Speaker 1: rights and is selling them back to us. You have
Speaker 1: to pay a permit to do something on your own property.
Speaker 1: What the hell is that? But we become accustomed enough
Speaker 1: to it that we have to beg We have to
Speaker 1: beg for the very schools we pay for to be open. Man,
Speaker 1: when Good Morning America is running a story on how
Speaker 1: the report finds there's no evidence that schools are spreading COVID,
Speaker 1: it's over. Yeah, open the dang school. Yeah. You know.
Speaker 1: It happens to bureaucracies and structures and civilizations that they
Speaker 1: become more and more corrupt and less and less dedicated
Speaker 1: to accomplishing their purpose. Publication education in huge swaths of
Speaker 1: the United States is now too diseased to save. It
Speaker 1: is the dog that must be put down. There are
Speaker 1: tears to be shed, no doubt, because public education in
Speaker 1: the US for a long time was a pretty damn
Speaker 1: good thing. But in some play, to some states in particular,
Speaker 1: it cannot be saved. There's too much cancer. You know,
Speaker 1: it keeps keeps popping into my head. The last couple
Speaker 1: of days. I wish I could debate Joe Biden, or
Speaker 1: at least I could, like whisper in Trump's year, I
Speaker 1: think that all the time. I think that all day long.
Speaker 1: Have this data on the studies of the schools across
Speaker 1: forty seven different states, and how it's not spreader, and
Speaker 1: really hammer Biden for being for keeping stuff closed, right,
Speaker 1: I wish he would. Yeah, And like the cop unions
Speaker 1: to a large extent, and and firefighters unions, a lot
Speaker 1: of teachers they like what the union gets them, but boy,
Speaker 1: they hold their nose armstrong and getty