An Arizona school district was forced to cancel its planned Monday reopening after more than 100 teachers called in sick over novel coronavirus fears.
J.O. Combs Unified School District superintendent Gregory A. Wyman said Friday that “we received an overwhelming response from staff indicating that they do not feel safe returning to classrooms with students.”
“In response, we have received a high volume of staff absences for Monday citing health and safety concerns,” he said in a statement. “Due to these insufficient staffing levels, schools will not be able to re-open on Monday as planned.”
The Phoenix-area school district had planned to open for the fall semester with a mix of in-person and remote learning, but the sickout means that “all classes, including virtual learning, will be canceled,” he said.
“At this time, we do not know the duration of these staff absences, and cannot yet confirm when in-person instruction may resume,” said Mr. Wyman.
He mentioned no specific number, but a district spokeswoman told the Arizona Republic that 109 certified staff had put in for absences on Monday. The seven-school district has about 600 employees, 250 of whom are teachers.
Arizona teachers’ unions have fought plans to reopen schools for in-person learning, arguing that teachers will be exposing themselves to unreasonable risk from the virus. Some teachers have underscored the point at protests by drafting wills and writing “obituaries.”
Meanwhile, about 200 parents held a rally last week in Phoenix in support of reopening, describing as inadequate the online education approach adopted after the coronavirus struck in the spring and holding signs with messages like “Facts Over Fear.”
On the AZ In-Person Education is Essential page on Facebook, parents blasted the sickout and vowed to explore charter and private school options.
“What a joke. They should all be fired! This is why people are upset with teachers,” said one parent. “They are using our children as pawns. The sooner the money follows the student, the better.”
Others cheered the teachers on the district’s Facebook page with messages like, “Bravo teachers. Protect yourselves and the kids if the district and their parents won’t!”
After peaking in early July, new reported cases of COVID-19 have been declining in Arizona, as have deaths, as shown on the Johns Hopkins website, while union officials have argued that schools should wait until their counties have met the state’s recommended metrics before offering in-person instruction.
No county in Arizona has met those benchmarks, the Republic reported.
The Arizona Education Association, a National Education Association affiliate, has called for delaying in-person classes until “at least the end of the first nine weeks of the school calendar,” while the American Federation of Teachers last month authorized the use of “safety strikes.”
“It was great to see J.O. Combs school district came together and used their collective power,” Kelley Fisher, a Phoenix kindergarten teacher who has led protests by school staff, told Reuters. “I’d love to see a nationwide sick out.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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