Education Austin is asking all AISD teachers to refuse teaching on campus but instead continue classes online due to Covid 19 concerns. The union is also launching a petition demanding AISD closes campuses for 9 weeks.
The Corona Crisis has pressed state education and Austin area district leaders to make calls on how classes are to resume in the fall.
Austin ISD aid looking at allowing 1/4th of the student polulation back on campus, said Ken Zerifis the president of the district’s employees union Education Austin. He equates the return to campus with Covid 19 infections still high, to running into a burning building.
He and other local educators are not happy with the district’s or the Texas Education Agency’s return to campus guidelines or plans. Zerifis said teachers should instead of returning to campus, stay home and continue teaching classes through digital means.
The union president explained, this is not a strike or a work stoppage as the teachers would still be teaching, just online in the safety of their homes. He said the district’s 25% plan would still give the virus a chance to spread among the tens of thousands of students and staff required.
Zerifis noted, even with campuses closed right now, AISD has a Covid 19 problem. He counts 500 employees quarantined and 15 district worksites closed.
