In discussions about reopening schools, please don't forget custodial staff and bus drivers. I don't know what it looks like elsewhere, but where I work the majority of custodians and drivers are over the age of 50 and often in contact with body fluids.
At the beginning of the school year, bus drivers can put down the windows, but it'll be miserably hot (I know, because my bus has no AC). And then what happens when it gets cold? Kids scream. They spit out crumbs. They spill drinks. They put their mouths on seatbacks.
I adore children and deeply enjoy getting them home safely to their guardians. I miss them a lot. But the reality is that school buses are pretty fucking unsanitary.
Anyway, apologies for rambling. Just a few things I've been thinking about as the school year approaches, hoping that ALL educational workers figure into the calculation.
(Props to Dave Grohl for mentioning cafeteria staff, janitors, drivers, nurses, etc., in his article/video.)
