FLORIDA -- Governor Ron DeSantis said he hasn't made a decision yet about whether to keep campuses closed for the rest of the school year.
- Petition started in Florida to keep schools closed through May
- More than 40,000 people have signed the petition so far
- More coronavirus news
"I think some people got a little wound up. I said if the parents think it's safe they would prefer kids in school and I think that's true. But it's also a question of do people think it's safe because if a parent doesn't think it is, it's going to be a different calculation," he said.
Thousands of Floridians are weighing in.
Vanessa Brito started an on-line petition on Change.org urging the Governor to keep schools closed.
"I think right now the perception teachers have is, "Why am I going to go back for two weeks basically to babysit the kids?" And parents feel like they're putting their entire family in danger," she said.
More than 40,000 people have signed the petition.
"I think people are pretty adamant about this," Brito said. "Many of the people signing are teachers and even a lot of students. I've had seniors in high school sign and you would think they would want to go back to school because they're already missing prom, Grad Night, and other school activities but instead they're saying, "health comes first."
Brito said she plans to print the petition out and send it to the Governor's office.
In addition, the President of the Florida Education Association has also sent a letter to the Governor and the Education Commissioner asking for schools to remain closed.
Governor DeSantis said he plans to talk to local school superintendents to get their input before making any decisions.