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Duval County teachers issue call for action to delay school reopening

In a social distancing protest, teachers rallied in their cars on the banks of the St. Johns River to let the school board know they want a safe place to work.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County teachers are calling for a delay in school reopening. Some are refusing to return to school campuses until the county reports there are no new COVID-19 cases for at least 14 days.

"It is not safe," said Alex Ingram, a teacher.

In a social distancing protest, teachers rallied in their cars on the banks of the St. Johns River to let the Duval County school board know they want a safe place to work.

"I cannot in good faith put my colleagues or students in danger," Ingram said.

Ingram has been teaching for six years and is among those refusing to return the classroom until he knows it is safe.

"The rules are 'safety first' in my classroom," he said. "The district is not putting safety first." 

The district extended the school start date and plans to implement safety guidelines for face-to-face teaching.

"We know there will be an increase in the spread of COVID-19 once we go back into the schools," he said.

Ingram, a civics teacher, was at the rally. He said, at the minimum, a mask requirement should be added to the student code of conduct and it is not. 

"We are going to keep pushing the district to do the appropriate thing," he said.

Teachers would like the district to use Duval Homeroom or virtual teaching for all students and teachers for the first nine weeks.

Given current class sizes, Ingram has yet to see how social distancing will work. He said to start school now in this  environment will lead to closures. 

"We will have to shutdown it is not a question of if, it is a matter of when," he said.

The teachers' call to action is to bombard Mayor Lenny Curry's office with calls. They want  the mayor to go back to phase one of his covid-19 order which limited crowd capacity among other things.

Duval County Chair Warren Jones said they are listening to the teachers concerns.

"I am considering a resolution asking the Department of Education for a waiver to its requirements and see if we can go to virtual teaching 100% for at least the first nine weeks," Jones said.

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