LYNN — Although Lynn students will be learning remotely this fall, teachers will still be delivering instruction in the classroom.
And because of health and safety concerns, some educators are not happy about the requirement.
The Lynn Teachers Union is pushing for the district to give teachers the option to deliver instruction remotely while students are learning from home.
Union president Sheila O’Neil is asking teachers, paraprofessionals, therapists, and community members to sign a petition that would urge Mayor Thomas M. McGee, Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, and the Lynn School Committee to establish a “Bill of Rights” for the reopening of Lynn Public Schools.
“In some buildings, there’s going to be hundreds of members of staff entering that building and we just don’t feel it’s safe at this time,” said O’Neil, who cited ongoing issues with ventilation in some school buildings. “Reopening schools should be safe for all.”
O’Neil said the union’s push for a remote learning option is based on rising coronavirus case numbers in Lynn and a positive test rate that is three times higher than the state average.
In addition, she pointed out health data released by the state last week that designated the city a “higher risk community,” as its daily case rate is more than 8 per 100,000 residents.
O’Neil said surveys conducted by the union show that about 58 percent of Lynn educators who responded are not comfortable returning to school buildings this fall.
In some instances, she said teachers with underlying health conditions who are at a high risk of severe COVID-19 infection could be entering school buildings to teach.
“Many of them will (do it) because it’s their job and they need to get paid, but that’s a pretty high percentage,” said O’Neil. “It’s more than half your workforce that doesn’t feel comfortable or safe. It’s a risk that’s above and beyond. We deserve to have an option.”
The reopening plan is part of collective bargaining between the school district and the teachers union. A bargaining session is scheduled for Wednesday and Tutwiler declined comment on the union’s proposal because of ongoing negotiations.
“We are knee deep in impact bargaining discussions with the Administrators Union as well as the Teachers Union,” said Tutwiler. “It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the status of that at this time.”
However, Tutwiler said as part of their contracts, teachers are required to report in-person five days per week. He said a district memo was sent to staff last week in the form of a proposal that would cut down that in-person requirement to four days a week.
He said the district’s proposal calls for teachers to report to their school buildings for classroom instruction on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Teachers would teach remotely on Wednesday, while buildings are cleaned, he said.
If extenuating circumstances, such as a medical condition or other qualifying concern, were such that teachers and staff feel they cannot teach in-person, Tutwiler said they have the option to take a leave of absence. However, they would not be teaching remotely during that leave, he said.
O’Neil said there has not been an agreement on what reopening will entail for teachers and that the union plans to present their petition to the mayor, superintendent and School Committee.
The petition, which has garnered more than 1,300 of the targeted 1,600 signatures, urges school officials to provide staff and students with a number of “rights” upon the reopening of schools this fall.
Along with allowing staff the option to work remotely, the union asserts in the document that all staff and students have the right to school buildings that are compliant with safety guidelines, and have the right to refuse to enter an unsafe building.
The union asserts that all staff and students have the right to follow all proper quarantine procedures without repercussions, and that all members of the LPS community have the right to be informed of suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases within the district, while also maintaining the greatest amount of privacy possible for the compromised individual.
“We’re not at the voting stage yet,” said O’Neil. “It depends on bargaining. It depends on what happens tomorrow. It’s very fluid.”
