By Mackenzie Mays 10/15/2020 09:08 PM EDT
SACRAMENTO — The California Teachers Association on Thursday reiterated its belief that schools should remain closed despite more counties being allowed to reopen campuses — and just as big city mayors called on Gov. Gavin Newsom and state schools chief Tony Thurmond to bring students back across the state.
CTA said access to testing and more funding for measures such as personal protective equipment and ventilation upgrades are needed before students can return.
But mayors pointed to equity gaps that are growing worse as wealthier families have already sent their children back to private schools or formed learning hubs, while lower-income students are struggling with distance learning.
“When the history of this pandemic is written, it will reveal that school shutdowns imposed far greater harms to our children than COVID-19 ever did — particularly for children from low-income families,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, chair of the California Big City Mayors Coalition, in a statement Thursday.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Oakland Mayor London Breed and other leaders of the state’s largest cities joined Liccardo in signing the letter to Newsom and Thurmond, urging classrooms to open quickly and to prioritize young and low-income students.
Reopening data: Only 10 of California’s 58 counties are still in the purple tier, the most restrictive designation in which in-person learning is banned with some exceptions for elementary schools and students with high needs. More than 2 million K-12 students live in those counties, according to the state Department of Education, including Los Angeles County, home to the nation’s second largest school district.
The rest of California’s public school students are technically allowed — or close to being allowed — to return. But the decision is a local one, and most of those 4 million students attend districts that have opted to stick with at-home learning for now.
The California Department of Education said Thursday it does not have a tally of how many schools are currently open for in-person learning. The schools that have reopened with mask and social distancing requirements have not seen an increase in coronavirus cases, the California Health and Human Services Agency reported last week.
Teachers’ take: CTA President E. Toby Boyd pointed to examples of schools in the state that have reopened and then had to close down due to coronavirus cases, saying it is more disruptive for students than it is helpful.
“I think that one incident of infectious transmission of Covid-19 is too much,” Boyd said at a news conference. “We can prevent it by making sure we have layers of precautionary measures in place so that our students can go back.”
A survey of more than 500 K-12 parents commissioned by CTA showed that only 10 percent of parents think schools should be fully open in person. Fifty percent said schools should stick to remote learning, and 40 percent supported a hybrid model, according to the survey, which targeted registered voters and was conducted online by Hart Research Associates.
Thursday’s news conference and survey results were the latest attempt by the teachers union to keep school openings at bay as pressure mounts for districts to reopen amid relaxed state restrictions. Last month, CTA called on Newsom for mandatory rapid testing for all students and staff, plus contract tracing plans coordinated by the state for California school districts.
“Until they can be guaranteed that it is safe, I can’t tell my members to step back in there when there’s the possibility of the Covid-19 virus,” Boyd said at a press conference Thursday.
The 13 big city mayors, too, are calling for more resources for schools, including for testing. But they want classrooms back open sooner and for California to issue uniform reopening standards. Right now, many schools are located in counties that are allowed to reopen under Newsom’s standards but have chosen to stick with distance learning.
What’s next: Thursday’s announcements could put Newsom in a tough spot between the state’s powerful teachers unions and high profile local leaders. The governor, a father of four, has called school reopening a priority for the state.
While mayors and teachers are calling for more resources to make schools safer, they are on opposite ends of a reopening timeline.
On Wednesday, Thurmond sided with CTA, standing firm against widescale school reopenings. “We have to proceed cautiously and that means for now, for many of our communities, distance learning is our best option,” he said.
