SOMEA, the South Orange-Maplewood Education Association, sent the following letter to Board of Education members on Thursday afternoon. Village Green has reached out to the Board and the District for comment.
Dear Board members,
We hope that you and your families are safe and well.
SOMEA respectfully requests that the Board of Education hold its next meeting in person with all Members present at a district building for the express purpose of addressing the questions and concerns of staff and community stakeholders in attendance without limitations on public speaking. Of course, we would expect the Board to use the same protocols, i.e., signage, six-foot distancing, hand sanitizing stations, and windows open, as it deems sufficient for the safety and welfare of staff and students engaged in in-person learning in the midst of rising COVID-19 positivity.
Relatedly, SOMEA asks each Board Member to attend school for full days so that they can answer questions and concerns based on first-hand experience with the conditions under which hybrid learning is actually functioning. SOMEA would be happy to coordinate a schedule so that Members obtain a full view of the district’s buildings in operation. Given the Board’s repeated collective and individual assurances that they believe hybrid learning in the midst of our escalating pandemic is entirely safe for staff and students and represents the best current instructional method for our students, we expect that the Board will be more than willing to grant SOMEA’s reasonable requests.
Thank you.
SOMEA Executive Board
Executive Board
Rocio Lopez, President
Shira Lincoln, Vice President
Phil McCormick, Secretary
Laurie Pham, Treasurer
Michelle Rhodes-Soriano, Member Communications
