‘Far too great of a risk.’ Most Pasco teachers want classrooms closed, says union

Pasco teachers are calling on the school board to move elementary students back online as COVID-19 cases continue to climb.

The Pasco Association of Educators sent a letter to the school board asking it to reverse course on having elementary school students in classrooms.

This comes as Franklin County reported 1,045 cases per 100,000 people for the two weeks ending on Nov. 27.

“It is evident that your best choice, the only prudent choice, is to return to remote learning for all students and staff,” said the two-page letter. “The pandemic surge within our community places far too great of a risk on our students and staff.”

The request was made after 80 percent of the nearly 790 teachers who responded to a survey, said they don’t feel safe returning to classrooms with students at current infection rates.

The Pasco School Board meets on Dec. 8, but it’s not clear whether they will address the union’s concerns at the meeting.

Kennewick teachers are working on a similar survey about the hybrid teaching model as Benton County faces 708 cases per 100,000 over the same two weeks. Results are expected Wednesday.

Richland’s teachers union has not said if it is sending out a survey or considering making a similar recommendation.

Already, Richland recently sent fourth- and fifth-grade students back home because they did not have enough substituent teacher and paraeducators to fill in for the growing number of vacancies because of illnesses or quarantining.

Only elementary students and some at-risk middle and high school students in the three largest Tri-Cities school districts are attending some in-person classes.

State guideline

Currently, Washington state officials recommend schools reopen for partial in-person learning when infection rates fall below 75 per 100,000 residents. However, there is a proposal to raise that threshold to 200 cases per 100,000 over a two-week period.

Most of the Pasco teachers surveyed want to wait until the rate of new cases drops to 100 new cases per 100,000.

“It is clear from our staff that the current level of cases that we are experiencing now are creating fear and concern about the significant risk to both students and staff,” said the PAE letter. “While an emphasis has been made on social and emotional well-being of our students, we seem to be ignoring the emotional well-being of our staff and their families.”

The union’s executives pointed out that the district doesn’t risk anything by taking a safer approach.

Dr. Amy Person, the health officer for the Benton Franklin Health District, continues to say it’s safe for elementary school students to stay in hybrid classes as long as they are following safety procedures, such as wearing masks, keeping a 6-foot distance and washing their hands.

Pasco school and health officials added an extra precaution of sending Pasco students home before lunch on the two-days they’re inside the buildings.

Shane Edinger, the district’s director of public affairs, confirmed school administrators had received the letter, and the board plans to talk about the current community health conditions at its meeting on Tuesday.

“The school board values the perspective of our staff members, and board members will have an opportunity to discuss the information that is shared in this letter during their board meeting,” Edinger said.

The Pasco district has about 19,000 students and about 1,000 teachers.

Lower than expected

In the past week, the school district reported 26 cases of employees and students testing positive for COVID-19, and 14 of them were students. However, union officials fear that number may be understated.

In a recent letter to the board, a school nurse said families are not testing their children when they or a family member tests positive for the virus.

“District data taken by a school nurse also shows there have been six students from four households who attended in-person classes after the family had been tested and were waiting for results,” said the PAE letter.

In addition, in one week another 27 students were out of school because they had to quarantine when someone else tested positive.

Problems with substitutes

Along with the increased stress for their family’s safety, teachers are being stretched thin because of other staff needing to quarantine.

Union officials say there are not enough substitutes to cover all the classes. This has meant teachers are being asked to give up their preparation time and make other sacrifices to fill in.

“The burden being placed on Pasco School District staff is creating additional stress which may increase future health issues,” the letter said. “Unfortunately, with the current blended learning model, the only consistency that we are providing to our elementary students is the inconsistency of their educational experience.”

The same concern was cited in Richland when school officials decided to return fourth- and fifth-graders back online.

The Pasco union also argued that the hybrid model is less effective than remote learning. Teachers get less time and consistency with students than with the hybrid model.

“We have strayed so far from research-based educational strategies, children are not allowed to sing, dance, chant or play together,” the letter said. “We are teaching them to play AT each other not WITH each other.”