San Francisco Teachers Union Demands Urgency From District Officials On School Reopenings
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Teachers union and San Francisco Unified School District officials were scheduled to return to the negotiating table Thursday as they attempt to hammer out a final agreement to reopen public elementary schools to in-class instruction.
But before the session began, union officials levied criticism of what they believe is a lack of urgency on the district's part to get an agreement in place.
On Tuesday, the union presented a comprehensive proposal around scheduling, stable cohorts, physical distancing in classrooms and in-person special education services.
When the parties returned to the table on Wednesday, union officials were expecting a counter proposal from the district, but none was offered.
"The union was disappointed that the district was not prepared with an actual counter proposal on Wednesday that would bring negotiations closer to an agreement," the union said in a press release. "After a long afternoon break, the district notified UESF they won't have a counteroffer until Thursday morning."
"We appreciate the attempt by the district to explore various options, but those options need to be feasible and educationally sound," UESF President Susan Solomon added. "We need management and the Board of Education to treat this with the same urgency that we and most of the community are. UESF has come with serious, workable proposals and we need the school district to do the same."
The union also released a new video addressed to the parents of its students.
Union representatives also met with Mayor London Breed on Wednesday to discuss a vaccination protocol. They were told by public health officials that work was underway on identifying a site where SFUSD employees would be vaccinated.
Health officials told the union they had a list of staff who will be coming back to the 24 elementary schools in Waves 1 and 2 of the district's reopening plan. The city would move quickly to get them vaccinated, working with Kaiser and UCSF.
