School District Scheduled to Meet With Teachers Union on Reopening

Pasadena Unified School District officials and members of United Teachers of Pasadena will meet later this month to continue negotiations on conditions to reopen schools.

The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 24, according to Scott Phelps, president of the Pasadena Board of Education.

“We would like to discuss moving towards an agreement to reopen K-2,” Phelps said. “They want more definite COVID safety plans for each school site, which are still being hashed out. What to do if there’s an outbreak, contact tracing plans, etc. Plans for how many people in the available physical space. That’s being discussed now, but no agreement yet.”

The district was scheduled to provide various COVID-19 plans that relate to health and safety at a Jan. 29 meeting.

Teachers unions across the country have refused to agree to place teachers back in the classroom until proper protocols have been put in place, including sanitizing stations, implementing guidelines on social distancing, and vaccines for teachers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last Friday that schools can reopen before teachers are vaccinated.
PUSD is registered as a health provider and has started vaccinating staff and teachers.

So far, about 250 staff members have been vaccinated. The district planned to complete its vaccinations by mid-March, but those plans have been deterred by the slowdown in vaccines received by the city.

According to UTP President Allison Steppes, one of the union’s goals at a Jan. 22 meeting included partnering in the vaccination plan so members could be better informed.

“Today we gained a commitment from Dr. Steve Miller, Chief Human Resources Officer, that UTP will be included in the further development of the plan for vaccinating our members,” Steppes wrote in a letter to members.

“The vaccination is voluntary; however, it needs to be given at a time that is feasible for our members to receive it should they choose. We recognize the issues related to COVID-19, the vaccinations are in flux, and many things change daily. However, UTP expects to be an integral part of the planning process for vaccinating our members who choose to receive the vaccination,” Steppes wrote.

The district cannot open until its case rate drops to 25 cases per 100,000 residents.