DEACTUR, Ill. (WAND) – Decatur Public School teachers are upset and expressing concerns after a joint announcement by the district and the Decatur Education Association, the union representing teachers.
“If I get this virus, there is a pretty good chance I am going to be put on a respirator,” Eisenhower teacher Kevin Hale said. “I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't afraid for my life."
In the joint agreement posted on Facebook, the district and union announced a plan to have teachers in the classroom three days a week while students continue to do e-learning from home.
Hale, an 11th and 12th grade teacher, was the recipient of a kidney transplant two years ago. His immune system is now compromised.
"One social contact that allows me to take in that virus is concerning to me,” Hale said.
As part of the agreement, teachers must be in the classroom on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. They can work from home on Mondays and Wednesdays.
"Fear is not a reason to not go into the classroom,” Susie Niesman, the first vice-president of the teacher’s union said. Neisman believes the option of teachers being in the classroom three days a week is the best option for everyone.
"We're going to go into our buildings and be in our specific classrooms, with the doors open or closed, and masks on,” she said. “We don't have to see other people at school."
Niesman told WAND News Hale and other teachers with health issues may be able to stay out of the classroom using provisions of the American’s With Disabilities Act. Hale said he is looking into that option because he thinks the decision for teachers to return now is too soon.
"No student’s life, no teacher’s life, no janitor’s life, no cafeteria worker's life is worth losing to race ahead," he said.
WAND News reached out the school district and asked them to comment specifically on the concerns of teachers like Hale. A district spokesperson said they would not be commenting and referred back to the joint statement released on behalf of the district and the union.
