Maplewood Teachers Say They Won't Return To Buildings Wednesday

MAPLEWOOD, NJ – Citing "unsafe" and "deplorable" conditions, South Orange-Maplewood teachers said they will not return to school on Wednesday and would instead continue to teach remotely.

Around 8:30 p.m., the superintendent sent out an email saying classes would be remote Wednesday, although there was no notice on the district website as of 10 p.m.

The letter read:

"Dear SOMSD Community,
As you may or may not be aware, this afternoon until this current moment, we have been conferring with leaders of SOMEA, along with their and our legal representation to discuss grievances shared in a SOMEA letter sent to the Superintendent's Office and the BOE late last night. We have reviewed the current situation with respect to rising COVID cases in the region, as well as discussed specific concerns SOMEA addressed in their January 25th letter.
As we are still working on coming to a mutually beneficial agreement, please note that tomorrow, Wednesday, January 27th will once again be a District-wide Virtual (Remote) day for all students. In addition to teachers, central office staff will also be working virtually. Food service distribution and OOD transportation will resume as normal. We will follow-up with a more detailed communication early tomorrow morning.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ronald G. Taylor
Superintendent of Schools"

On Monday, the South Orange-Maplewood Education Association (SOMEA) had submitted a letter to the school board urging for the return to all-virtual learning effective Wednesday, "given the unsafe conditions and ineffectiveness of the district's current operations."

Students in Pre-K through second grade, 6th and 9th graders, English Language Learners and Special Services Students started a hybrid learning schedule on Jan. 19.

Students in other grades, originally set to return on Jan. 25, will have to wait until February, when the situation will be reassessed, Superintendent Ronald Taylor said.

In December, a parents' group held a rally to ensure that the buildings reopened in January, and to urge five days a week of in-person learning.

In the letter to the school board Monday, SOMEA expressed concern over "deplorable conditions" in classrooms as teachers keep windows open to compensate for inefficient ventilation systems in the buildings.

Additional concerns include alleged disregard of an architect's report about the buildings' filtration systems, workers going into classrooms without masks on, and failure to quarantine students and staff who have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

In the letter, the association said there was "no instructional benefit to returning to our buildings," following a day of remote learning on Friday, as students receiving in-person instruction struggled to access Wi-Fi and devices.

Starting Wednesday, the teachers will not return to their classrooms but will instead continue to teach remote.

"We will continue to educate passionately, but will do so from our homes until such time as temperatures are moderate enough to avoid bone-chilling working conditions in violation of minimum temperature standards and vaccines are made available to educators," the group wrote in the letter.

SOMEA has also posted an online petition encouraging people to email Taylor to urge a return to remote learning.