Orange County Classroom Teachers Association is calling on the district to sign a memorandum of understanding that would keep certain COVID protocols in schools. 

The MOU would guarantee that every teacher has enough PPE and classrooms are being cleaned regularly among other COVID health protocols. 

Orange County Classroom Teachers Association President Wendy Doromal says right now, that’s not necessarily the case. 

“Teachers are saying they’re out of PPE at their schools including masks and hand sanitizers. The custodians are not there. Because of course, no fault of their own they have COVID or, or are sick. So classrooms aren’t being cleaned or sanitized.”

Doromal says there also needs to be more accurate case reporting, especially during the latest Omicron surge, with a variant that’s even more infectious.

“They still refuse to disclose the names of every worksite or location where there is a positive case they lump them under some headings like teaching and learning that could be eight different places. So they don’t have the security the parents or the teachers of knowing how to make health decisions.”

The school district and teacher’s union will meet again at an impasse hearing on January 18th to discuss this proposed agreement.

In a statement the district says, “due to the quasi-judicial nature of the impasse process, we are not able to provide you with a comment at this time on the MOU,” but that PPE is still readily available upon request.