Safety at Broward schools decried

Teachers, parents cite poor social distancing among students

Some teachers and parents are accusing Broward schools of failing to keep people safe at school, due to what they call lax social distancing on campuses.

The Broward Teachers Union held a news conference Tuesday with parents who led Zoom meetings last week to voice concerns about the school district’s efforts to bring more teachers and students back to campuses this semester. The school district determined that too many students are distance learning, and they are asking teachers and most struggling students to return to campus this semester.

Last semester, only 26% of students attended in person, but district data shows that should soon be up to about 39% this semester, which started last week, based on responses from parent surveys.

The teachers and parents say they don’t think the district can bring this many kids back and still maintain 6 feet of social distancing, which is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Superintendent Robert Runcie held his own news conference afterward, defending the district’s COVID-19 safety efforts. He said for the most part, the district is following CDC guidelines.

Broward Teachers Union Prednisone Anna Fusco said she is seeing inconsistent efforts when she visits schools.

“There will be five or six empty classrooms in a school, but then you’ll see some with 25 where you can clearly see there’s not 6 feet feet of social distancing,” Fusco said.

John Moreno-Escobar, who has a son at Sawgrass Elementary in Sunrise, says he received a message from Runcie saying the district is complying with CDC guidelines and also a note form his school saying some classes may only be able to maintain 3 feet, which is half the recommended distance.

“I’m very concerned about the heath of students, parents and teachers,” he said. “As more students get pushed to go back, we’re going to see this more.”

Adding to the confusion has been conflicting messages form Runcie. On Jan. 11, he said the district would be relaxing social distancing in some schools due to increased enrollment. He said many school districts in Florida are doing fine with 3 feet of distancing. He said that there’s been no evidence that schools are major sources of spread for the virus and that schools still require masks and enhanced cleaning.

But after parents complained in the Zoom meeting and the

South Florida Sun Sentinel story reported the relaxed guidelines, he sent a robocall to parents Tuesday night calling reports that the district was not adhering to social distancing “false and misleading.” He said schools would be asked to reconfigure rooms and move furniture to meet CDC guidelines.

On Tuesday, Runcie acknowledged that may not always be possible.

“Our goal is to make sure we can maintain 6 feet whenever possible,” he said. “We know there may be some instances where it may be difficult. We’ll try to get as close as we can. I can’t guarantee every single classroom is going to have it exactly right but I’d absolutely say the vast majority of classrooms will be able to meet that.”

Moreno-Escobar said the district needs to ensure “there is transparency and communication that is clear.”

Parents, teachers and a student also criticized the district for not extending remote work accommodations for teachers who had health issues that made COVID19 a high risk for them. The district allowed this for about 1,700 teachers last semester if they had health conditions that could make COVID-19 a higher risk for them.

Only about 600 were extended, mostly elementary teachers, and they were done based on the needs of the school, not medical need. The union said the district had promised to grant accommodations through June. The case is in litigation, with an arbitration hearing scheduled for Thursday.