Clark County school administrators union asks Jara to close schools

By Miranda Willson

Friday, March 13, 2020 | 6 p.m.

The union that serves Clark County school administrators is requesting that Superintendent Jesus Jara close all schools within the Clark County School District in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees, which represents principals, deans and other administrators, sent a letter to Jara Friday outlining its members’ concerns about keeping schools open. As of Friday afternoon, the district had canceled all extracurricular activities, sports practices and games, assemblies, and out-of-state and international field trips due to the pandemic, but schools remain open. No coronavirus cases have been reported within the school system.

Seventeen union leaders, all of whom are central office administrators and principals, unanimously voted on their position in favor of closing schools Friday morning in reaction to the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday night, the letter says.

At Thursday’s meeting, Jara and some school board members emphasized that many students rely on schools for reasons far beyond education, such as free and reduced lunches, safety and community. If the district does decide to close schools, officials hope to have a plan to limit disruptions to the lives of students and families, Jara said.

“Once a decision is made, I’m going to request that we have enough time to not only communicate to the community, but also share the plan in place,” he said.

Although the union agrees that closing schools would create challenges for students and families, it says the health and safety of students and staff should come first.

Jara and other district officials say they are closely monitoring the coronavirus situation, which has evolved considerably over the last week. On Friday, eight new presumptive positive coronavirus cases were reported in Clark County, bringing the total number in Southern Nevada to 16.

That should be reason alone to cancel schools, according to the union. “That is more than a 100% increase from yesterday,” the letter says. “It is clear that things will get a lot worse than they are right now.”

In addition to canceling non-essential school activities, the district says it is taking extra measures to clean all surfaces in schools. Salad bars have been removed from school cafeterias and officials are looking into ways to impose distance separations in schools.

The union expressed skepticism about whether custodial staff have the capacity to adequately disinfect schools and about whether separating students in overcrowded schools could make a difference.

“With 40-plus students in too many classrooms, there is no way that the recommended ‘social distancing’ strategies can be effectively employed, placing students and staff at even greater risk,” the letter says.

Jara and other high-ranking district officials are communicating with the Southern Nevada Health District, the Clark County Commission and Gov. Steve Sisolak on the best way to respond to the pandemic, officials said. But the union urged Jara to listen to its members as well, in addition to teachers and other school staff.

“The current ‘community partners’ approach referenced during the (school board) presentation is far removed from the actual circumstances that exist every day in schools and classrooms that are extremely overcrowded,” the union wrote.

At Thursday’s school board meeting, officials emphasized that children under 18 are at very low risk of contracting the virus. However, the Centers for Disease Control says that children and others can carry the virus and pass it on to others even if they experience no symptoms. Immunocompromised children also may be at a higher risk.

This is why the union says it is inevitable that the disease will spread further into the community, including in Clark County public schools. Los Angeles public schools announced they would close Friday, adding to a growing list of schools across the country that are closing, including all public schools in Ohio, Maryland, Florida, Illinois and elsewhere, due to coronavirus.

There is no reason to delay the inevitable in Clark County, according to the union.

“Principals ask that you and the elected trustees lead our school district through this crisis by taking aggressive action to close all schools now. We ask that schools remain closed through the end of spring break, at which time a determination can be made regarding next steps,” the union says.

The school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.