CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) - Plans for reopening schools for in-person instruction are still in limbo for the Mount Diablo Unified School District.
The superintendent says no deal has been reached between the district and the unions at the bargaining table.
At least nine public school districts in Contra Costa County have submitted reopening plans for in-person instruction to the state and county public health departments.
The Mount Diablo Unified School District is not one of them.
"We would send our children back to whatever means as soon as possible. It's been almost an entire calendar year,” mother Sarah Katsikas said.
Sarah Katsikas has two children enrolled at Gregory Gardens Elementary School in Pleasant Hill and says her kids, like many others, are struggling with distance learning.
“It just feels like we are not being given options at all. Even for those of us who do feel like it's time -- it's safe,” Katsikas said.
Last month, Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark alluded to March as a possible target for welcoming students back on campuses but during a virtual meeting with the Board of Education Wednesday, he tempered that goal.
The district and its six labor unions have not come to an agreement on when to reopen, citing disagreements over the district's proposed reopening plan.
"We are aiming to reopen in some form when we get to red, when the county says that it’s in a red tier," Clark said.
Based on Contra Costa County's adjusted COVID-19 case rate, elementary schools are allowed to reopen based on state guidelines during the pandemic, despite the county remaining in the purple risk tier.
The Mount Diablo Education Association is one of the six labor unions at the bargaining table.
Its president, Anita Johnson, says schools should reopen based on their city's specific COVID-19 case rate and not the county's.
"Our district is not homogenous like other districts. We have some communities that are really affluent and have low transmission rates, and some communities that are less fortunate, and are continuing to struggle with very high transmission rates,” Johnson said.
Clark says more than 1,000 students have transferred out of the district in the past year, adding that layoffs and possibly school closures are possible if that trend continues.
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