RALEIGH, N.C. -- State House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) responded Tuesday to the Governor’s announcement that K-12 school systems in North Carolina will not operate on a statewide comprehensive plan to return students to the classroom, and will instead rotate students periodically or remain closed with virtual-only learning.Speaker Moore issued the following statement: 

“Instead of taking a local approach to economic closures and prioritizing North Carolina’s vulnerable populations, this administration has inconsistently shuttered thousands of small businesses statewide and failed to implement a comprehensive plan to protect nursing homes.

"Today’s announcement that classrooms will remain closed to students either periodically or completely exacerbates the administration’s economic and public health failures while adding even more uncertainty for struggling families in North Carolina.Returning students to the classroom should be our top priority, but instead North Carolinians are experiencing the devastating impacts of Governor Cooper’s one-size-fits-all economic closures and policies that hinder broad recovery without protecting the vulnerable.I urge the Governor to present a workable, comprehensive plan for our schools, our economy, and vulnerable senior citizens, that recognizes the failures of his current scattershot approach and provides real opportunities for our state to move forward.”