As COVID-19 surges in Sacramento, teachers call for stronger safety measures before reopening

The leaders of nearly every teachers union in Sacramento County are calling for public schools to remain closed while COVID-19 infection rates are surging and are demanding more transparency from health and school officials about positive virus tests in districts.

In a letter to Sacramento County Public Health official Dr. Peter Beilenson and Sacramento County schools chief Dave Gordon, the leaders of 11 of the 13 Sacramento County teachers unions said California “cannot physically open schools for in-person instruction until it is safe.” Union leaders said they were concerned officials allowed Folsom Cordova Unified and St. HOPE Public Schools to reopen as the county entered the purple tier, the state’s most restrictive for reopenings.

“Safe school reopening requires your leadership to coordinate and operationalize compliance checks to ensure that safety measures are actually implemented including: regular and accessible testing-for-prevention dedicated to schools; rapid case notification and contact tracing; isolation support and medical care for our most vulnerable students and families; and data transparency of cases, outbreaks, and quarantines in schools,” read the letter.

The letter writers asked county leaders to provide onsite testing as part of a COVID-19 prevention program and an online dashboard for each district that reports the number of cases, outbreaks and quarantines.

“The lack of testing and robust safety measures is irresponsible and puts not only the lives of our students and staff in danger, but their families and the entire community,” said River Delta Unified Teachers Association President Marsha Montgomery.

The majority of Sacramento County public schools are still teaching classes through full distance learning, but nearly 5,000 Folsom Cordova Unified students returned to classrooms last week just as infection rates surged across the county. Natomas Unified and Elk Grove Unified made conditional plans to return before 2020 ends, but the spike in infection rates put those plans on pause.

Days after reopening, four classrooms closed in Folsom Cordova as at least four individuals on two campuses tested positive for coronavirus. Folsom Cordova Unified shared a dashboard of cases on its website that documented 16 confirmed cases among staff and students since August.

COVID-19 cases in schools

While students are largely learning from home, most districts have not set up dashboards to document employees who have tested positive for the virus. Some cases are occurring among custodians, groundskeepers, administrative staff and teachers.

Some districts, including Sacramento City Unified, have shared emails with parents when someone has tested positive. The district is developing a public dashboard. About 30 staff members have tested positive since the start of the pandemic in Sacramento City Unified, according to email notifications from the district.

In several cases, infection numbers released by county public health officials have been far different than the numbers districts have reported.

For example, San Juan Unified reported a total of 16 positive cases among staff members. But county data account for just one. Folsom Cordova Unified reported 10 positive cases, but the county data shows just one. Country records also account for just seven total cases in Sacramento City Unified.

The county said there have been 37 cases associated with private schools, including 20 students.

County superintendent responds

In a Nov. 20 letter responding to the teachers unions, Gordon stated the county’s school districts have worked closely with public health officials and Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to comply with all state and local health guidelines, including an integrated program for testing and tracing.

“It very disappointing that your November 18, 2020, letter does not accurately characterize the coordinated safety planning in Sacramento, nor does it acknowledge your participation in developing your individual school district’s plans,” he said.

Sacramento County has a list of 10 places where parents can test their children for COVID-19 for free.

Gordon also stated the county is working with districts to develop dashboards.

At least two Sacramento City Unified employees have died from COVID-19, according to its records, separate from the substitute teacher who died in the early weeks of the pandemic.

With schools and school districts across the Sacramento region now scheduled to reopen campuses in early January, Sacramento County will need to return to the red tier by Dec. 22 — just says before Christmas, a time when many families gather to celebrate the holiday or their time off.

Several school districts are relying on metrics to determine when to reopen campuses, particularly those in areas that are hardest hit by COVID-19, such as Twin Rivers Unified.

“As educators, we want to be back in the classroom with our students,” said Elk Grove Education Association President Rick Stancil. “But there is too much at risk to ignore science, facts and safety.”