Livermore Parents, Teachers Spar Over Reopening Classrooms
LIVERMORE (KPIX) -- On Thursday, Nobella Baba joined a large group of Livermore parents who have been very vocal about getting their children back into the classroom.
"(Remote learning) is doing a lot of harm to our children, mentally, physically, academically " Baba said.
High school teacher Caryn Quesada says she loves her job and wants to get back in front of her students but there is one thing she says she needs.
"I don't have any desire to go back to a school setting until I'm fully vaccinated," Quesada said.
Other teachers say it is unfair to compare teaching to a grocery store job or other frontline work.
"Teaching is incredibly different," Granada High School English teacher Liz Watson said. "I have never spent six and a half hours in a grocery store with a small group of the same people. At the high school, we spend over an hour with multiple sets of students who are spending over an hour with other multiple sets of students."
The CDC says schools can reopen even if teachers have not had the COVID vaccine.
"I would love to see my students in a safe way," Quesada said.
Watson agrees. "The problem is our classrooms are very small and we can't really do the six-foot distancing with the class sizes," she explained.
Both sides hope to come to an agreement soon to salvage what's left of the school year. Baba just hopes her kids are in school soon.
"I absolutely hear their side however my response would be that the school district has spent an enormous amount of money revamping filtration and the air duct system, which was a demand of the union," Baba said.
The Livermore Unified School District tells KPIX they hope to have teachers and staff vaccinated in the next couple of weeks. They said it all depends on supply.