Parents and students sat outside Marshall Elementary School on March 12 to protest the ongoing district buildings closure due to COVID-19.
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Students in kindergarten through second grade in the South Orange–Maplewood School District returned to their classrooms on March 15, even as mediation between the district administration and the South Orange–Maplewood Education Association broke down the week before. On March 9, the district released a statement saying that the Board of Education decided to discontinue the mediation process because it is “being used as a tool to hide bad-faith negotiations on behalf of a select few at the expense of the return of close to 1,500 students.”
On March 16, the court heard the Board of Education’s application to require all SOMSD staff to return to in-person instruction. The court denied the overall request but did order sixth- and ninth-grade teachers to report to their classrooms on March 18.
“The Hon. Jodi Alper entered an order compelling SOMEA sixth- and ninth-grade teachers to report for in-person instruction as early as Thursday, March 18, to rooms assigned by the district that were previously identified as having passed SOMEA’s unique standards,” a March 16 press release from the district read. “It is notable that the district had made this offer to SOMEA several weeks ago, but it had been refused. We are thankful that the court was willing to order the return for our sixth- and ninth-grade students and families. This is an important and critical step in the right direction as we resume in-person instruction. The legal significance of the court’s order is to ensure that our community is not faced with another work districtwide interference with the return of Phase 3 in-person learning.”
Another court date is scheduled for April 19.
According to the district, prior to this latest ruling, they met with SOMEA representatives for five and a half hours on March 2 and agreed that teachers would return only to classrooms that the union said passed its standards test during walk-throughs in January and February. Teachers with pending classroom grievances would be allowed to work remotely.
“With the limited number of students in the buildings during Phase 3, there are excess unused rooms that passed the walk-throughs and could have accommodated classes while grievances and disputes are worked out prior to our next phase of hybrid instruction scheduled for April 19,” the district’s March 9 statement said. “Unfortunately, SOMEA refused to return to these rooms that had passed their walk-throughs. Although we had come to a sidebar agreement that defined criteria for rooms with univents, SOMEA repudiated that criteria and refused to identify any new criteria that would make them feel the facilities are safe for K-2, 6th and 9th grade classes, leaving little to discuss.”
According to the district statement, the union said it would return to in-person instruction for kindergartners through second-graders only, excluding sixth- and ninth-graders, on the condition that the district approve three 504 requests; 504 plans are those that accommodate students with disabilities. The BOE rejected the proposal because it excluded sixth- and ninth-graders. SOMSD said the union did not communicate with them over the weekend or on March 8.
The SOMEA also released a statement on March 9, addressing the district’s announcement with “a damp blanket of exhaustion and depression.” The union said it was waiting to continue the mediation process when it was alerted to the district’s decision.
“Just weeks ago, the district falsely accused SOMEA of not wanting to engage in good-faith mediation, yet it is the district which has not allowed this process ‘to continue to fruition,’” SOMEA’s statement read, referring to the similar situation over in Montclair, where the Board of Education and teachers union have had to go before a judge, who in February ruled in favor of the union and told the two parties to work together to ensure building safety prior to resuming in-person instruction. “SOMEA can only wonder, what is it the district seeks to hide?”
On March 11, the SOMEA said they are committed to fulfilling the terms of the sidebar agreement they signed in January.
“The board, it appears, prefers to insist and obfuscate rather than address the real, ongoing issues impeding a safe return to school for all students who wish to,” SOMEA said in a separate press release on the same day. “SOMEA, on the other hand, continues to emphasize a safe, science-based and phased approach towards the return to in-person instruction.”
Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, who represents both Maplewood and South Orange in the state Legislature, urged both the union and the district to come to an agreement that would allow students to return to in-person learning.
“It is not lost on me that our local YMCA is providing child care in our elementary schools. I took measures to ensure that the construction project approvals that the residents of our communities overwhelmingly voted to bond were completed by the NJDOE. That has been accomplished,” she said in a statement on March 10. “Vaccine availability has been expanded to include educators, and ventilation should not be a problem with the onset of spring. While academics are extremely important, the mental health and well-being of our students is even more critical. A return to in-person learning is essential to restoring some level of normalcy.”
Jasey said she advocated for local control because she believes the decision of when to return to classrooms should be made by the people who make day-to-day decisions in the school district. She is the vice chairperson of the Assembly’s education committee.
“Education policy is my passion, and it frustrates me that the critical role played by educators and support staff in the lives of our children and adolescents is not given the respect that it deserves. That said, they must come to the table committed to an outcome that is in the best interest of the students they so ably serve,” Jasey said. “There is nothing we do as a society that is more important than ensuring our children receive a great education. We have the resources and the ability to provide this. Seemingly, all that is missing is the will.”
Photos by Amanda Valentovic
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