SHARON, MASS. (WHDH) - Teachers working for the Sharon Public School system said they refuse to return to their classrooms due to coronavirus concerns with the start of the school year just around the corner.
“Sharon Teacher’s Association members decided that we are not going to walk into the buildings on Thursday, which is the opening day for us,” President Bernadette Murphy said.
Now there is a standoff in town between the teachers and the administration who expect them to abide by the approved guidelines for learning.
“Our expectation is that our teachers will show up for work in their buildings tomorrow,” Superintendent Dr. Victoria Greer said.
All this coming just days after the School Committee voted to reopen with a hybrid model.
The teacher’s union said it voted overwhelmingly to start remotely.
Students are set to start school on Sept. 16.
“What is it going to look like during lunchtime when students don’t have a mask on,” one teacher said as a part of a video they put together to discuss safety concerns in the buildings.
“The teacher would be instructing both groups in a mask and a shield from behind plexiglass — the group in class and the group at home simultaneously,” another teacher noted. “That’s where the issue is.”
Greer said she supports and respects the teachers and that she is confident they can make it work. She said the number of COVID cases in the town is low.
“We just had an assessment done,” she said. “If something comes back in that assessment that will tell us that we need to do some repairs prior to people returning, that is what we will do.”
Conversely, Murphy said the teachers are fearful and committed to standing their ground.
“It’s not a strike because we’re working,” Murphy said. “Thursday we will be working just like every other professional. We’ll be working remotely.”
“They’re saying it’s not a strike. We would probably beg to differ about that,” Greer said. “Because they’re expected to be at work and they’re not showing up.”
Now down to the wire, both sides are insisting they are willing to talk and work out a solution.
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