Chicago school district cancels some in-person classes as labor dispute flares

By Brendan O’Brien

CHICAGO (Reuters) – In-person classes in Chicago for pre-kindergarten and special education students were canceled again on Thursday as a labor dispute between teachers and school officials over the district’s COVID-19 safety plan remained unresolved.

Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), representing 28,000 public school educators, has been locked in negotiations with Chicago Public Schools for months over a plan to gradually reopen schools for in-person learning, including pandemic-related safety protocols.

With the nation’s third-largest school district aiming to reopen in-person classes for some elementary and middle students on Monday, the two sides have yet to come to an agreement. Rank and file members voted last week 71% in favor of staying remote and not going back into their schools until their demands are met.

Elementary and middle school teachers were due to report in person on Wednesday to prepare for Monday’s reopening, but only about a third of them showed up, the district said. It was uncertain how many reported to classrooms on Thursday.

“I am protesting the inequitable and unfair treatment of teachers, staff and scholars by CPS,” said Dwayne Reed, a fourth and firth grade teacher on the city’s South Side, who has not been in his classroom this week.

Earlier, CTU had warned that teachers will be ready to picket if the district disciplined any of those who failed to report to work on Wednesday.

In all, about 67,000 elementary and middle school students remain on the list to take at least some of their classes in-person, down from 77,000 who initially signed up for the option, according to CPS.

Similar labor disputes have unfolded across the country, pitting teacher unions against district officials over conditions for reopening, almost a year after the virus shut down schools for 50 million students nationwide.

The teachers’ union in Chicago says classrooms lack proper ventilation and that the district has failed to provide cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment. The district says ventilation meets industry standards for classroom learning and that it would provide schools with adequate PPE.

The union has urged school and city officials to move quickly to vaccinate teachers. Inoculations are expected to begin in mid-February.

The district said on Wednesday in its latest proposal that it has offered to make accommodations for those teachers who have family members with medical conditions, and that it has expanded testing and prioritized vaccines for staff working in the hard-hit areas of the city.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Colorado school district votes to allow employees to carry guns

A selection of Glock pistols are seen for sale at the Pony Express Firearms shop in Parker, Colorado

By Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) – A tiny school district in central Colorado has voted to allow teachers or other employees at its two schools to carry concealed handguns on the job if they volunteer to serve double duty as security officers in case of an emergency.

The Board of Education for Hanover School District #28 voted 3-2 to approve the resolution on Wednesday night, said Mark McPherson, board president.

McPherson, who voted against the plan, said it was inspired less by the fear of a shooting rampage on campus than by the district’s remote location, some 30 miles from the nearest sheriff’s station.

“We had a board member who introduced the idea back in June who indicated he felt the need for this because of the distance and response time (from law enforcement) as well as all the (potential) trouble from marijuana grows,” McPherson said.

The written resolution, however, says in part that it was drafted “in light of recent events nationally,” apparently in reference to a string of shootings on school campuses.

McPherson said it was a coincidence that the measure was approved on the third anniversary of a Dec. 14, 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 students and six staff members were slain.

Hanover School District #28 is comprised of one elementary school and one combined junior and senior high school, serving a total of about 245 students. Each school has about 10 teachers.

According to the resolution, any teacher or staff member with a permit to carry a concealed weapon can volunteer for extra duty as a security officer.

The employee must then complete training before being allowed to bring the gun to campus.

McPherson said that it was not yet clear how many of the 20 or so teachers in the district would sign up to be volunteer security officers but that the resolution did not set a limit on how many could carry weapons.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Dan Grebler)

New York Mayor To Add Muslim Holidays To School Calendar

Easter has to be a “spring break” but the Mayor of New York City thinks adding Muslim holidays to the school calendar is perfectly fine.

New York Mayor Bill deBlasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina announced Wednesday that all schools will close for the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

“We are committed to having a school calendar that reflects and honors the extraordinary diversity of our students,” said Farina.

This is the same school district that is in court to prohibit Christian churches from being able to rent facilities while allowing all other groups to rent them.

“We’re here today to make good on a promise to our Muslim brothers and sisters that a holiday of supreme importance to the Muslim community will be recognized in our school calendar so that children can honor the holiday without missing school,” the mayor said.

The mayor claimed it’s about supporting families.

“Families are the fabric of our city. They’re the core of our city,” the mayor said. “All families deserve respect. Every kind of family deserves respect, and that’s what we’re noting today.”