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Chula Vista Elementary School District board explores safe ways to reopen classrooms

The district has indefinitely postponed its original reopening date on Oct. 26 after pushback from the teachers' union.

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — As division continues to grow between teachers and the Chula Vista Elementary School District on when classrooms should reopen, district leaders held a special meeting Thursday night to explore the issue.

The district superintendent originally sent a letter to parents back in September proposing a reopening date of Oct. 26.

However, pushback from the teacher’s union and a group of parents over safety protocols has spurred the district to indefinitely postpone the reopening. 

A growing number of instructors have raised concerns over when the district, which has about 22,000 students, plans to reopen the district's schools to in-person education, pointing to the disproportionately high number of COVID-19 cases across South Bay. They also claim that safety protocols are not being followed by district leaders.

While no decision was made at Thursday's meeting as to when students would return to class, district leaders did hear written comments from teachers and parents. 

"There is a lack of trust that is difficult to deny," one teacher wrote.  

"As a teacher, I do not feel confident in the ability of the district to keep me, my students, their parents, other staff, and community members safe during this virulent pandemic," said another. 

District leaders outlined the safeguards they plan to implement once re-opening actually happens, from distributing face masks and other PPE to sanitation measures to staggering students into two groups, rotating between in-class and at-home virtual learning Monday through Thursday.

"Then on Friday, both groups would be distance learning with the teachers," said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Thiel.

"Really what we are trying to do is have the plan ready to go once we are told that we are ready to go," Dr. Thiel added.

Board members plan to meet again next Wednesday, as they continue to develop their safe reopening plan and possibly decide on a re-opening date.

The district sent the following letter out to parents regarding the decision to postpone their schools' re-opening:

"Dear Parent/Guardian:

Although our goal of a phased return to in-person instruction was proposed for October 26, 2020, our District will take extra precautions and postpone the reopening because COVID-19 transmission rates in our boundaries are still too high. We want to give you notice now of our decision. We remain committed to a safe return when the data in our boundary area supports resuming at least a hybrid form of in-person instruction. In the meantime, we will continue working with our bargaining groups and stakeholders to ensure a safe reopening at a future date."

There is a petition circulating on change.org that is said to be from concerned parents. There were just under 200 signatures as of Thursday night. The petition calls for the district to listen to “science” and to not fully reopen until the data says it is safe to do so.

Throughout the pandemic, News 8 has covered extensively that Chula Vista and other South Bay zip codes have been hit harder by COVID-19 than other areas. That is one of the listed concerns of parents and some teachers when talking about reopening.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the teacher’s union is also concerned about a number of positive cases amongst students and staff since March. The teacher’s union also claims that on-campus-in-person support sessions run by the YMCA are not following multiple safety protocols.

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