Union students will start fall semester in classrooms Aug. 24, with online option available, board decides

Several parents had urged against Superintendent Kirt Hartzler’s distance-learning proposal, expressing anger that their right to choose what’s best for their children could be taken away from them.

As a result of the 2-3 vote on Hartzler’s recommendation, classes will start in person at Union Public Schools on Aug. 24, but students will have the option of taking classes online, as the board had authorized earlier. Students and employees will be required to wear masks while at school.

Hartzler told the board that everyone, including him and other administrators, wants students and teachers to return to the classroom this school year.

But Hartzler said he made the recommendation to start school solely with distance learning based on the advice of the Tulsa Health Department, the state Department of Education and the district’s own Re-Entry Task Force. The task force “overwhelmingly” agreed that Union can’t ensure the safety of students and employees on campus right now.

“This has been an extremely difficult decision, as the safety of our students has always been our #1 goal,” Hartzler said in a press release after the meeting. “However, our Board has examined the recommendations of the Tulsa Health Department and the protocols issued by the State Board of Education, and weighed them against the learning needs of our students and the desire of many parents to have children back in school.

“As a result, the children enrolled in in-person learning will start the school year in classrooms with teachers. While I still have concerns, I can assure you that Union Public Schools will do everything in its power to keep students and staff safe.

“We will proceed with in-person school as long as possible, and should it become necessary to take action, we will close school as needed. That is in our School Re-Entry Plan, and we will stick with the plan.”

The superintendent’s proposal received support from the Union Classroom Teachers Association, which recently revealed the results of a survey of its teachers regarding the reopening of schools.

Association President Deena Churchill said the survey results showed that 69% of members do not feel safe returning to face-to-face learning on Aug. 24. That same percentage also supports starting through distance learning, she said.

When asked about their level of anxiety about returning in person, 86% of the more than 300 respondents reported medium to high anxiety.

“As representatives of our members on the district Re-entry Task Force, we received hundreds of emails from teachers who expressed fears about returning in person,” Churchill wrote on the group’s Facebook page Sunday. “While we realize we have members who support a return to in-person learning, it is our duty to support the majority of our members.”

Board member Ken Kinnear said he voted against the proposal because he hasn’t seen any recent spike in COVID-19 numbers as compared to when the board approved the in-person plan last month. He said he believes the best course for schools is to enforce masks and practice social distancing.

Tulsa, Jenks and Owasso school boards voted last week to commit to 100% distance learning starts to their school year. On Friday, Broken Arrow announced it would delay its first day of school for two weeks while the district continues to monitor COVID-19 cases and assess whether distance learning is necessary.

At the same time as the meeting, a handful of parents and students protested the recent controversial remarks of Union board member Jeff Bennett, who has been criticized for his response to a concerned father.

That father, Adam Palmer, and his wife, Michelle Palmer, emailed each school board member individually to advocate for distance learning ahead of the board’s Monday vote on whether to adopt such a plan for the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.

Bennett responded: “Hello Adam; Thanks for your opinion. I’m not convinced anyone, certainly not the experts, most defiantly not me know much about covid,” Bennett began before launching into a rambling paragraph that also was riddled with grammar and spelling mistakes and called COVID-19 the “deadly Chinese virus.”

“I certainly appreciate the trust you place in myself and the board but there is no right decision, certainly not for everyone ...,” he said in closing.

Some of the protesters carried signs with messages saying “Jeff Bennett does not rep the U (Union)” and “racism is contagious too.”

Stone Burnett, a parent of five Union students, called for Bennett to be removed from his seat on the board for his comments, which she called racist and distressing.

“Union has a very high population of students of color,” Burnett said. “How can they feel safe if this is what leadership says? This is not a safe place. This is a place that needs some changes.

“Being called the Redskins, still? Union has problems, and this is like the spark that made me realize I don’t want to just sit back and roll my eyes when my five kids come home from Union schools. I need to be out here making a difference.”

Moments before voting to reject the distance learning proposal, Bennett apologized for using the term “Chinese virus” in his email and said it was a mistaken attempt to establish a timeline for the pandemic. He said he has received hundreds of angry responses calling him racist and urging him to resign in addition to a death threat.

“If you know me, you know I’m not a racist,” Bennett said. “If you don’t know me and I’ve offended you by trying to establish a timeline by calling it the Chinese virus, I am deeply sorry. I absolutely did not mean to offend you in anyway.”

Video: Union school board member faces public backlash after email rant to parent

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