RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. – On Friday, Gov. Roy Cooper said public schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year In North Carolina because of the coronavirus.

Randolph County School System Superintendent Stephen Gainey said he wishes the state could have figured out a way to get back into school, but safety is the most important thing right now, so he respects the governor's decision.

If students would have returned on May 18, only three weeks would've been left in the academic calendar.

The parent of a junior at Randleman High School said she is glad her daughter isn't going back, because it might be more trouble than it is worth at this point.

"If they go in, they've got to take their temperatures; they're not going to get really anything done,” Lanette Hamilton said. “ I hate it for the seniors, though. You know they go for 12 years, and they can't graduate, that's kinda sad."

Seventh grader Khloe Springs thought the exact opposite.

"I was not very happy,” Springs said. "Because I have a lot of school friends. I mean, online school, I really have no motivation. So it's really hard to get everything done."

Gainey said moving forward through the closure, he is focused on students' nutrition and his staff's salary and benefits.