With long petition, educators ask Lamont to close schools

HARTFORD —Just before Thanksgiving, a coalition of education unions called on the state to end in-person learning during the ongoing pandemic unless several statewide safety precautions were met.

Thursday in Hartford, leaders of the group met on the north steps of the state Capitol, armed with a petition they say has been signed by 14,000 education and community members who side with them.

Before handing off the binder and a 20-foot scroll of names to Jonathan Harris, senior adviser to Gov. Ned Lamont, the Board of Education Union Coalition took to the podium, taking turns to say they want to return to the classroom, but only if they are safe.

“(We) demand that the state of Connecticut maintain, enforce, establish, rigidly enforce consistent statewide protocols for safety in all schools,” said Norwalk Federation of Teacher President Mary Yordon, who is also a vice president of AFT Connecticut. “We find the level of risk in our schools can be unacceptable.”

She called the petition “an unfortunate last resort.”

Jeff Leake, president of the Connecticut Education Association, said with surging infection rates and vaccines for the general public not available until the new year, the state must shift to fulltime remote learning until at least mid-January to ensure in-person learning is safe.

“Not an experiment, not a gamble,” Leake said.

In addition to teachers, the coalition includes unions representing paraeducators, bus drivers and monitors, counselors, custodians, and cafeteria workers as well as parents and community members.

As he battled the the sound of sirens in the distance, Carl Chisem, president of unions representing custodial staff, said his members are the final defense in ensuring the cleanliness of our schools and the safety of our students.

“Without enforced, universal protocols, their responsibilities are that much more difficult to accomplish,” he said.

Gov. Ned Lamont, who has steadfastly insisted schools are the safest place for students to be, stuck to his message during an afternoon press conference on Thursday.

“I say to teachers, ‘What, you have 8, 10 days left to the end of the (calendar) year?’ I would say we are doing to do everything we can to keep you safe. ... Your safety is of utmost and paramount importance to us and I am going to do everything we can to keep you safe.”

Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, meanwhile, said the health and safety of students, educators and staff is and has always been the department’s primary consideration.

“We will continue to do everything we can to ensure as many children as possible have access to opportunities for in-person learning,” Cardona said.

Schools, he added, are among the best implementers of mitigation strategies. Most school closures, districts report, are related to staffing shortages, not due to evidence of in-school transmission.

Cynthia Ross-Zweig, council president representing paraeducators, said to keep school doors open without regards to science can not be in the best interest of children.

“The entire state is in the red zone,” said Ross-Zweig. “Everyone is susceptible, students, staff and unless there are mandatory, consistent and transparent guidelines, we will continue to learn of more cases and deaths.”

“We have a long and hard winter ahead of us,” added ASFME Council 4 Executive Director Jody Barr. “Let’s do right by our students and staff.”

He and others want schools closed through the holidays unless several demands are met.

In a report released last month, the coalition called on Lamont and Cardona to require timely case notification of COVID-19 cases by school, list schools closed and for how long on the state dashboard, include staff in community contact tracing efforts and set consistent statewide protocols in schools for social distancing, COVID testing, PPE availability, and quarantines lengths.

If school staff must quarantine, they should not have to use sick leave, according to the report.

“The message we are trying to communicate is clear,” said Michael Holmes, International Service Representative for the United Auto Workers, Region 9A. “We are simply asking for statewide standards to be applied equally, across all school districts throughout the entire state.”

Some of those who signed the petition provided commentary, according to the unions. One signer from New Milford called transparency and contact tracing important.

“Neither is happening in my school,” the signer said.