An Arizona school district had to delay its reopening after too many teachers refused to look out for safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The JO Combs Unified School District, southeast of Phoenix, voted earlier this week to return to person classes when the school year officially begins Aug. 17, despite teachers participating in “motor marches” in July to protest again.
JO Combs administrators did a rough job, however, days before students were set to return to classes. Superintendent Gregory Wyman announced Friday that the ward would not open at all because too many of his teachers said they would not attend.
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According to a statement from Wyman, the neighborhood had received an ‘overwhelming response’ from staff that they did not feel it was safe to return to classrooms with students.
A spokesman for the district told the Republic of Arizona that out of the 600 employees in the district, about 250 are teachers. Nearly half of them – 109 certified staff members – had submitted for deviation on the first day of school, she said.
“Due to this insufficient staff level, schools will not be able to reopen on Monday as planned,” Wyman wrote in his statement. “At this time, we do not know the duration of this absence of staff, and we are not yet able to confirm when instruction may be personally restored.”
The district has laid off 23 employees since July 1, with four employees resigning since JO Combs voted to reopen this week, the Republic report.
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Newsweek contacted JO Combs for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
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The Arizona Department of Health Services released benchmark data on Aug. 6 to help school leaders determine when or how they could safely open classes for personal learning.
The three benchmarks include: a decline in cases; two consecutive weeks with percent positive below 7 percent; and two consecutive weeks with COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region below 10 percent. However, schools are not required to meet these metrics, and may choose to reopen, regardless of what the data shows.
State Superintendent Kathy Hoffman had announced the new measures along with Arizona Department of Health Services Director Cara Christ. Hoffman said most communities in the state do not currently meet the three data points, the Republic report.
Pinal County, home of JO Combs, has reported 8,665 cases of coronavirus as of Aug. 14, according to the county’s website. According to its data, the province has recommended two of the three benchmarks for reopening of schools.
Within the two-week period from July 12 to 26, the most recent data available, Pinal County has seen a decline in cases and declines in COVID-19 hospitals. It did not meet the percentage positivity method, as this number was close to 11 percent on July 26th.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said during a news conference Thursday that it was up to individual school districts to choose if they wanted to run again. Hoffman disagreed.
“I think it’s really toxic to the community that they make decisions that endanger their staff and the lives of their teachers,” Hoffman said at a meeting with the University of Arizona’s Education Policy Center Thursday, according to KTAR News. “It’s very devastating.”
In his statement, Wyman wrote that JO managers are continuing to oversee the personnel situation and would share an update at 5 p.m.
“Please be aware that we are acutely aware of how polarizing this problem is, and how challenging these ongoing developments are for our entire community,” he wrote. “We will continue to work closely with our staff and our families to develop solutions that deliver a safe and healthy return to school.”
