New York Post

Union chief’s open-school nix – except for his kid

- By YARON STEINBUCH

The head of a California teachers union has been blasted as a hypocrite after he was caught dropping off his 2-year-old daughter at her private preschool — despite saying it was unsafe for children to be back in classrooms.

“Meet Matt Meyer. White man with dreads and president of the local teachers’ union. He’s been saying it is unsafe for *your kid* to be back at school, all the while dropping his kid off at private school,” a group known as Guerilla Momz said on Twitter.

Meyer (pictured), president of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, has fought for what he called the “gold standard” for the educators — saying schools should only reopen to in-person learning when teachers are vaccinated, among other criteria, KQED reported.

Guerilla Momz followed Meyer and his daughter to her preschool, where they captured him dropping her off on Feb. 18.

“Matt Meyer Berkeley Federation of Teachers President blocks opening public schools in-person, yet has had his own child in in-person school since June 2020. Stop the hypocrisy. Our children are suffering. Open schools full-time Now,” the group wrote on YouTube.

A group called Reopen California Schools tweeted, “@BerkeleyUn­ified union pres. Matt Meyer who has led efforts keeping Berkeley schools closed nearly a year because it’s ‘unsafe’ caught dropping daughter off at private in-person school. Why is it safe for him but not the rest of BUSD families???”

Meyer told Fox News the video — in which his child’s face is blurred — was “very inappropri­ate” and a violation of the girl’s privacy, adding that there were “no public options for kids her age.”

“There are major difference­s in running a small preschool and a 10,000-student public school district in terms of size, facilities, public-health guidance and services that legally have to be provided,” he said.

“We all want a safe return to school. The Berkeley Federation of Teachers is excited that Berkeley Unified will be reopening soon with a plan, supported by our members and the district, to get our students back in classrooms starting later this month.”

A tentative plan would see preschoole­rs through second-graders returning to class at the end of March and other grades staggering back through April.

But some parents have pushed for earlier reopenings, arguing that schools are safe to attend without vaccinatio­ns for all teachers.

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