Lodi goes back to school on Aug. 10
Lodi teachers say they were fine with original start date for classes
Lodi Unified School District teachers will be able to teach from home beginning Aug. 10.
Joe Nava, the Lodi Unified Board of Education president, made the announcement during a special meeting Wednesday night to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Lodi Education Association.
His announcement comes after many teachers expressed disappointment with one particular part of the MOU, which states the first day of school will actually be a week later.
The district sent out a notification about the special meeting at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, which stated the MOU to be discussed calls for a new start date of Aug. 10, with an additional week of instruction added to the end of the 2020-21 year. The school year would then end on June 10.
Teachers would be compensated an extra five days for preparation and training during the week of Aug. 3.
On Wednesday afternoon, many teachers said they don’t know why the district decided to delay the first day of school by a week.
Michelle Orgon, president of the LEA, said that as of last Friday, teachers were under the impression school would start on Aug. 3.
The union and district don’t typically hold labor negotiations over the summer months, Orgon said, but the agency insisted on a Saturday bargaining session that went late into the evening.
Four different academic calendars were presented, and the LEA pushed for an Aug. 3 start
“There are some teachers who are stressed out about the upcoming year. A lot of them are new teachers, or new to distance learning . ... But simply put, we didn’t ask for (the late start), and we didn’t necessarily want it.” CASSIE CHAMPEAU TEACHER
date. But Orgon said the district told the bargaining team it would implement the Aug. 10 start no matter what.
No explanation was given for the last-minute negotiation, Orgon said.
“The (bargaining teams) really had a back and forth all Saturday,” she said. “It’s our hope, always, that we’re collaborating as we approach these things. I do hope ... that we continue to work together to ensure safety protocols are in place and that we take them seriously.”
Karen Jackson, a special education teacher in the district, said the LEA bargaining unit was given the option to vote “yes” or “no” on the MOU. The only section of the document they wanted to affirm was the ability to let teachers who wanted to retire this year do so, she said.
The district told the LEA it would only let teachers retire if the entire MOU was approved, Jackson said.
“We didn’t feel it was right to have our older colleagues go to work in a place that wasn’t completely safe,” she said. “The compassionate thing to do would have been to say, ‘Of course you can retire. You worked for us 20 years and don’t want to see you exposed to this.’ But the district didn’t do that.”
It was irresponsible for the district to spring a special meeting on parents at the last minute, Jackson said, and irresponsible to send the message out that teachers wanted everything in the MOU.
District spokeswoman Chelsea Vongehr said teachers have been offered early retirement benefits if they declare retirement by Jan. 15, as stated in a collective bargaining agreement.
For the MOU, the board included a provision that gives teachers an additional opportunity to receive that benefit, she said. According to the MOU, teachers must declare retirement by Monday, July 27.
Teachers like Cassie Champeau said the extra week to prepare for the school year is not needed, as they have been creating curriculum and lesson plans all summer.
“There are some teachers who are stressed out about the upcoming year,” she said. “A lot of them are new teachers, or new to distance learning. I’ve done distance learning before, so I’m ready to start on the regular day. But simply put, we didn’t ask for (the late start), and we didn’t necessarily want it.”
Not only are teachers unhappy with the delayed first day of school, Champeau said, but they are also upset about being required to be on campus for a full day of work.
Along with its July 14 approval a mandatory distance learning program, the board also signed off on a modified “Level 1” model that would keep campuses open.
In addition, many teachers will be sharing classrooms while they work and conduct lessons remotely, Champeau said. With teachers and staff on campus at the same time sharing classes, bathrooms and cafeteria space, Champeau fears being exposed to COVID-19 and bringing it home to her son, who is special needs and has a compromised immune system.
The board unanimously approved the MOU, as well as a revised instructional calendar, without discussion.