Days ahead of reopening, teachers in this N.J. town ‘do not feel safe’ returning to school – NJ.com

As schools across New Jersey are days away from reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, teachers and staff in one Essex County town said they “do not feel safe” returning to the classroom next Tuesday.

The Belleville Education Association, the union representing teachers, nurses, counselors and child study team members at Belleville’s public schools, released a statement saying in no uncertain terms that they do not feel safe returning to the township’s public schools on Sept. 8, after inspections showed deficiencies that included poor air quality inside schools.

In a union vote Thursday night, a majority said they did not feel safe returning to their classrooms, according to the statement.

“We are compelled to inform the Belleville community that the Belleville Education Association does not believe that our schools are providing our students and staff with a safe learning environment,” association president Mike Mignone said in a statement. “Honestly, I would not send my boys back to school under our present conditions.”

The vote and the statement on behalf of the township’s teachers and staff comes just days before school is set to restart following a hybrid model that would mix in-person and remote classes for the start of the year.

Find all of the most important pandemic education news on Educating N.J., a special resource guide created for parents, students and educators.

According to a video update by Superintendent Richard Tomko posted earlier this week, Belleville’s public schools would do a phased return to in-person classes, with the district’s pre-K, kindergarten, School 1 and special population students returning Tuesday, Sept. 8, grades 1 to 3 returning Sept. 14, grades 4 to 6 returning Sept. 21 and middle school and high school students returning Sept. 28.

Calls and an email to Tomko requesting comment were not immediately returned.

The vote against returning to classrooms next week was the culmination of what the association sees as a wide range of health and safety failures at the township’s schools. Many of the schools’ univents — which draw fresh air from outdoors — are not working correctly or at all, said Mignone. In some cases, the univents have not yet been installed, with an estimated completion date of late September, weeks after classes are scheduled to start, he said.

“After several walk-throughs by the Belleville Education Association’s Health and Safety Committee, a team of volunteers who have training from several organizations in identifying problems found in schools that impact health and safety, their assessment is grim,” Mignone said. “On these walk-throughs, many issues presented themselves, but the most outstanding problem is the lack of indoor air quality.”

Mignone, on behalf of the association, also said school buildings’ filtration systems are below the MERV 13 level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. MERV 13 is the minimum level that is effective in filtering out the coronavirus.

In the video update, Tomko acknowledged the schools’ filtration systems were new, but had been approved and installed before COVID-19 and the CDC’s guidelines. Tomko said that rather than wait, the schools would do a phased reopening as the filtration systems were refitted.

“Over the past week and a half after the guidance from the CDC came out, we have been working with our faculty and staff, with our executive teams to see the best that we can do in trying to get some equipment that we need in time to open,” Tomko said. “The only way we could possibly do this and… effectuate change in a positive way is to do it in a phased opening.”

“We’re going to phase students in as we continue to make sure our rooms have these filtration systems,” the superintendent added.

In the video update, Tomko said he and his staff would do whatever they could to reopen, but acknowledged his decision to phase back in-person classes would be met with opposition.

“I know for some of you that’s not going to be a popular decision,” Tomko said. “But it is what it is.”

In his statement, Mignone said the education association, along with Board of Education Trustee Michael Sheldon, simply wanted to postpone the district’s reopening until it was completely safe for teachers, staff and students.

“We are confident that if we work together, it can be done right,” the union leader said. “After all, our teachers, nurses, counselors and CST very much want to get back to in-person learning. Teachers want to teach… We just want to do it safely.”

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Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com.