Guest Opinion | United Teachers of Pasadena President Allison Steppes: PUSD Is Not Prepared To Reopen Schools

Pasadena Unified School District is rushing to reopen campuses for in-person learning on March 30, 2021. United Teachers of Pasadena (UTP) does not believe that reopening schools the week of March 29, 2021 is educationally sound for students nor safe for staff and students.

Included in the week of proposed reopening, Monday is not an in-person day, Wednesday is a school holiday, Friday is a shortened day, and all dates lead up to the week of Spring Break (April 5-9) resulting in a disrupted educational experience for all students attending in-person.

Based on the financial incentive that the state has provided, if schools open by April 1, 2021, PUSD stands to receive $5.7 million. For each day they postpone reopening, they lose $51,000.00 per school day. UTP proposes schools reopen on April 13, 2021, which is a loss of two days. The lives of staff and students are worth more than $102,000.

The Districts actions thus far do not reflect health and safety are important to them. Reopening is not a process which should be rushed when the health and safety of thousands of people are at stake. United Teachers of Pasadena has concerns about the date of reopening campuses due to the District’s inability to prove they can consistently provide a safe environment for students and staff alike.

At the March 4, 2021 Board meeting, the District committed to provide a COVID-19 Dashboard on their website by March 12, 2021. The Dashboard would provide transparency into the number of positive cases at each District site. At the time of this writing, the Dashboard does not exist. In addition, all 28 school sites must have a COVID-19 Safety Plan posted on their website. School sites have not provided clear procedures for the closure of a class or school site in the event of a positive COVID-19 case.

Let’s be clear, UTP wants to return to campuses to educate our students. However, the safety of everyone on campus is paramount. Due to the lack of evidence, we have no confidence the District will provide for the safety of everyone on campus.

Allison Steppes, Ed. D., President
United Teachers of Pasadena