Summit Parent Group Protests Quarantines, Will Attend Meeting

SUMMIT, NJ — Members of a Summit parent group held an outdoor protest Saturday, saying the 14-day coronavirus quarantines of public school students have been too long and frequent. They also plan to speak at Thursday's virtual school board meeting.

The parents are part of SUPERR, Summit Unite Parents for Extracurricular Return to Routine, a group that has written letters and spoken before the board.

Parent Sarah Roberts said last week that multiple 14-day quarantines have negatively impacted some students' education, mental health, and sports and extracurricular programs.

"There is growing frustration and anger over the Westfield Board of Health's guidance," said Roberts last week, "who say they are only following NJ Board of Health regarding school contact tracing quarantine policy. Many children have experienced multiple, necessarily lengthy quarantines."

Another parent complained that the town's Common Council members have declined to take a stand, because they say it's a matter for the school board.

"Some kids are in their second or third 14-day quarantine," said a parent involved in local sports programs, "so 28 to 42 days removed from classrooms and extracurricular activities."

Last week, the Summit schools introduced a dashboard to help parents keep track of cases in the schools. It also lists numbers of students remote and on-site.

A city spokeswoman said, in response to the complaints, "The State of New Jersey issues pandemic health policy guidance that health department officials interpret for the Summit Board of Education. The [board] can choose to follow it, or not. City of Summit Common Council and the mayor have no jurisdiction over Board of Education pandemic health policy decisions. A determination about whether or not to revise sports quarantine policy and when to return to a full-day school schedule can only be made by the Superintendent of Schools and Board of Education."

Gov. Phil Murphy last this week that even as the vaccination rollout continues in New Jersey, coronavirus cases were not expected to decline just yet. Monday, all New Jersey residents 16 and over will be eligible to be vaccinated.

Organizers stated the purpose of their Saturday protest was:

1. Continue to pressure our elected city officials to push state officials to change the 14-day quarantine to 7-10 days with a negative test, stop punishing our kids when there has been zero in-school transmission. Get them back in school and out of their rooms!

2. Continue to educate others about Summit community's outrage over this policy and the damaging effects it is having on our children's mental and physical health.

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