Parsippany District, Teacher's Union At Odds Over COVID Data

PARSIPPANY, NJ - Frustrated by what they viewed as a lack of transparency from the school administration, the Parsippany-Troy Hills Education Association began posting COVID-19 case data online for the school community.

Until the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District sent them a "cease and desist" letter.

"The reference to the 'Parsippany Troy-Hills [sic] District COVID 19 positive case tracker' is
misleading as it reasonably interpreted as information that is published or endorsed by, or is otherwise the official position of, the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District. As such, the information is misleading," the letter, shared with Patch by Superintendent Barabara Sargent said. "The BOE hereby demands either that the PTHEA immediately cease and desist this posting or post a clear and visible disclaimer unambiguously stating that the information posted on that website represents the position of the PTHEA and does not represent information gathered or developed by the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District nor does it represent the official position of the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District."

According to PTHEA President Joseph Kyle, an educator with near three decades of experience, they were posting the information because the district was refusing to do so.

"Most districts are making numbers widely available via COVID-19 trackers. Our Superintendent refuses to do so. I've asked her multiple times. The gist of her responses, when I'm not ignored, is that she isn't required to do them and that she's following state guidelines," Kyle said.

In an excerpt of an email with Kyle, Sargent reiterates the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District's position on sharing the information.

"In cooperation with the Parsippany Department of Health and Local Health Officers, the district collects and maintains information on individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 for the purpose of contact tracing and reporting," she wrote. "This information is shared only with those whom the district has been directed to disclose such information. Notification, when and where it was required, was provided to the relevant school community."

Kyle acknowledges that Sargent is not wrong, the state isn't requiring districts to provide information to the entire community, but that isn't the point he said he is trying to make.

"Most other districts are doing it out of a desire for health and transparency, so the community knows what's going on in the district," he said. "As you can see from the Superintendent's response to me, the district is required to notify 'the relevant school community,' which the Superintendent is interpreting to mean only the parents and staff of a particular building."

Kyle argues that there are 14 schools in this district the current process means that when there are cases in one school, only the individuals affiliated with that building were getting that information.

"We decided to post the numbers because we believe that everyone has the right to know what's going on in their school district. I have members that work in multiple buildings; they should know," he said. "We should not hide from information."

There was no response from the district until the cease and desist letter arrived.

But according to Kyle, the since they have no contact with the local health officer, all their lives are in the hands of a single individual, the Superintendent, to accurately report positive cases.

"I would add that we've heard several reports of cases for which we don't receive notification from the district, and I've brought these concerns to the Superintendent. "But she often responds by simply telling me that our information is wrong, or otherwise repeats that the district is following established protocols - and we have no way to know otherwise."

For here part, Sargent sent a similar response to Patch as she did to Kyle.

"Notification of positive COVID cases is sent to the impacted school community and not district-wide," Sargent said via email. "The district's process since last March has been to communicate with the individual school community."

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