D124 Staff Test Positive For COVID-19: Union

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — With three days remaining until students return for in-person learning at Evergreen Park’s public grammar schools, the teachers’ union sent a searing letter to District 124 administrators and school board members on Friday informing them that current plans are not adequate for a safe reopening of schools. D124 students are scheduled to return for half days on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27, with the first full day of in-person attendance on Aug. 28.

Ten teachers and staff have tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19, according to a letter posted on the Evergreen Park Federation of Teachers Facebook page. The letter outlines where current plans to return to the classroom are falling short in protecting the safety of students, their teachers and staff.

During the Evergreen Park Dist. 124 board meeting on Aug. 19, teachers presented a similar list of concerns that school buildings were not ready and requested that the first quarter of classes for grades K-8 be held remotely.

>>> D124 Schools On Track To Reopen, But Teachers Are Concerned

The faculty and staff currently ill or showing symptoms of coronavirus are exclusive only to union membership, the letter states. The teachers’ union presented data to board members last week estimating that the district could possibly be paying up to $8,000 per week for substitute teachers to keep Southwest, Southeast, Northeast and Northwest K-5 schools, and Central Middle School fully staffed during the pandemic.

“If this were a regular school day with students, we would need ten substitute teachers just to cover these COVID-related absences,” union co-presidents Katie Patras and JoAnn Reilly stated in their Aug. 21 letter. “If students were in the building the number of absences would be much higher.”

A Dist. 124 official told Patch that the administration unable to discuss staff members' medical records due to HIPPA regulations.

"That being said, we are unsure of what the data released by the Union represents, as it does not match our records," D124 spokesman Alex Mayster said. "Please be assured that District 124 has, and will continue to, act in accordance with the health and safety procedures put forth by the Illinois Department of Health."

The teachers union is requesting that schools go to remote learning for the first quarter, to allow time to fill staffing needs and have a plan in place to maintain staff “at the fullest capacity possible; focus on a more manageable budget and comply with IDPH safety protocol.”

Among the union’s concerns, school board members announced a new partnership with Advocate Christ Medical Center that would provide regular COVID-19 testing with quick results for Dist. 124 teachers and staff, including paraprofessionals, aides, support staff and custodians. The teachers union claims the partnership is not fully complete in time for schools starting this week.

The letter also stated that PPE, including desk shields have not yet arrived. Although not required by the Illinois Department of Public Health, desks in classrooms are currently spaced 3-feet apart. Touchless water fountains where students can fill water bottles have yet to be installed, and quarantine rooms for children showing symptoms of COVID-19 at the various buildings are lacking plastic shields on doorways. The quarantine room at Central Middle School is currently being used for device pickup. Some sanitizing wipes delivered last week to teachers do not meet CDC guidelines and aides have not been fitted wit N95 masks.

The teachers union also claimed that despite being told that all ventilation systems were sanitized and in working order, vents were spewing black particles last week while mold was found in others.

“If [these] ventilation systems are what we are relying on for safe air circulation in our classrooms, we are not ready to return in person,” the letter stated.

Read the letter sent by EPFT124 teachers union:

EDITOR'S NOTE: The headline of this article initially incorrectly stated that teachers had tested positive for coronavirus. It has been corrected to reflect that the confirmed positive cases affected staff, as multiple cases had not been confirmed among teachers.