An unspecified number of Oakland public school teachers have planned to call in sick on Friday as COVID-19 cases surge in Bay Area classrooms and beyond amid the omicron variant's spread.
The protest was planned to start with a car caravan Friday morning going through East Oakland, and by noon end at 1000 Broadway, the Oakland Unified School District office for a socially distanced and masked rally, one teacher who declined to give her name told KCBS Radio.
They are protesting COVID-19 protocols in the school district and requesting more supplies, like N-95 masks, be provided, among other things.
The number who planned to participate has not yet been confirmed, but one organizer told the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday that Garfield Elementary School "and at least a couple of other schools" in the Oakland Unified School District planned to participate. District officials emailed parents on Thursday calling the potential move "illegal" and one that "is likely to significantly disrupt basic operation and instruction and will negatively impact the safety of students."
Neither the Oakland Unified School District, a teacher organizing the sickout nor the Oakland Education Association responded to KCBS Radio's emailed requests for comment prior to publication.
Tamara Henry, a Garfield math coach and district parent, told the paper on Wednesday they are asking the district to provide N95 masks to all students, plus more accurate and more frequent COVID-19 tests.
The district distributed tests to students and staff prior to winter break, which officials said in Thursday’s email returned more than 900 positive results before classes resumed on Monday. Otherwise, COVID-19 tests are required for unvaccinated staff members on at least a weekly basis, while negative PCR tests are required for students and staff if they’re returning early from quarantine after showing symptoms.
District officials didn't explicitly say in their email why teachers were expected to call in sick, but they did claim "schools are one of the safest places for our students to be during this omicron surge." The district said the "majority of people" in the district are vaccinated, without specifying if they had been fully vaccinated or boosted.
A little more than 60% of students aged 12 or older were fully vaccinated as of Dec. 1, according to the district’s data. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday approved Pfizer booster doses for children aged 12-15, which agency director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that evening would "provide optimized prevention" against the omicron variant.
The district’s letter, signed by Chief Academic Officer Sondra Aguilera, Chief Talent Officer Tara Gard and Chief Systems and Services Officer Preston Thomas, called the sickout "illegal" and an "unauthorized work action."
The Oakland Education Association has not sanctioned the sickout, according to KCBS Radio’s Doug Sovern. Neither a district spokesperson nor Henry responded to KCBS Radio's request for clarification on the possible legal repercussions.
Oakland's possible sickout would follow similar action in San Francisco on Thursday. The San Francisco Unified School District told KCBS Radio that 616 teachers called in sick following the circulation of a petition – signed by 767 people as of press time – calling for school staff to call in sick in an effort to change the district’s COVID-19 policies.
United Educators of San Francisco continued bargaining with district officials on Thursday, saying the parties failed to reach an agreement after "several hours of bargaining." The union, which represents more than 6,500 teachers and staff, called for the district to provide high-quality respiratory masks to all students and staff, weekly testing of students and staff plus extended COVID-19 sick leave for all staff.
District and union officials are expected to continue bargaining next week.
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