CPS reopening news: CTU calls for Chicago Public Schools COVID safety plan week before classes start
CTU, CPS negotiations continue
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Less than a week before the start of Chicago Public Schools classes, the CTU is still negotiating with the district on a COVID safety plan.
In a morning news conference Monday, Chicago Teachers Union members said it's still not safe to go back to the classroom with students and staff as the delta variant continues to spread.
"We're excited to be returning to our schools," said Erica Johnson, a teacher at Fulton Middle School. "At the same time, we've landed only about 25% of the safety agreement we had in place last spring when we reopened, including keeping our critically important safety committees. But we have a long way to go."
"What we are proposing, asking, demanding are the same mitigations that have been there already," CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said. "We did not experience widespread outbreaks last winter and spring."
Some CTU members said with the variant affecting so many young children that cannot be vaccinated yet, bringing everyone back inside buildings creates an unsafe working and learning environment.
"We had a commitment that if transmission got to dangerous levels, the schools would be put on pause," said CTU President Jesse Sharkey. "The state mandate allows that to happen, but we have no commitment on the part of the mayor."
The CTU is calling on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to create what they consider a safe and stable plan for schoolchildren and in-person learning.
"I need CPS to tell me the protocol and their plans they have in place for students who get exposed to COVID-19 or the delta variant," said CPS parent and teacher Kimberly Walls-Kirk. "For students who get sick, what will my child do if her class has to quarantine? What will her learning look like? As a mother, I am concerned that CPS at the moment does not have a plan to improve remote instruction in cases where the entire class needs to quarantine."
Pressure is also coming from nearly 50 aldermen and state politicians, who sent a letter to the mayor and CPS pushing for safety measures, including a 14-day quarantine period of remote learning if there is a confirmed case in a classroom. The mayor said negotiations continue.
"There's no dispute; everyone agrees that we're going to open up next week on Monday, August 30th, five days a week in person. There's no dispute that teachers and other staff of CPS will be vaccinated as a requirement starting on October 15," Lightfoot said.
CPS interim CEO Jose Torres said Tuesday morning that a contract already exists with CPS teachers, so there's "no need for a written agreement for what we need to do on Monday."
WATCH: CPS says 'no need' for further written agreement with CTU before school starts
He said if there's an outbreak in schools, they'll to contact tracing and move some children to remote learning if needed.
Torres emphasized that universal masking works, and the COVID vaccine is the best protection, which is why the shot is required for all CPS employees.
