Prince William teachers rally over school reopening plans

The Prince William County School Board is making plans to reopen schools, a process teachers at a recent rally have claimed is lacking transparency.

With the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, and the new school year starting August 25, the Prince William County School Board has been holding meetings to discuss how to safely reopen schools.

So far, they assembled a 90-person panel and a task force to discuss plans for reopening schools. The task force consists of principals, assistant principals, and lead teachers.

However, some teachers say they were given very little information about the panel, regarding who is on it or what its plans are.

“My concerns are how was this put together? Why can’t we know the members of this panel and email them with ideas or concerns? And does this panel have diverse representation on it?” said Oveta Scott, a sixth-grade math teacher at Fred M. Lynn Middle School in Woodbridge. “When [Superintendent Dr. Steven L.] Walts presents his plan to the school board, will the discussion from this panel be included?”

The school board has sent surveys to teachers asking if they are comfortable with virtual or traditional schooling. However, music and physical education teachers did not receive a survey, Scott claims.

In addition, the budget has been greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, money has been going into the community in the form of small business loans, a housing assistance program, and food campaigns. 

“The challenge now is that we were doing well in this first wave of COVID-19, but now we see that there’s a resurgence, and we don’t know how that’s gonna affect us,” said Board of County Supervisor Victor Angry, Neabsco District. 

The Prince William County School Board has asked the Board of County Supervisors for $42.5 million to safely reopen schools this fall. Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef presented these cost estimates on June 16.

Discussions about the budget are ongoing as the Prince William County School Board monitors the situation.

In response to the alleged lack of transparency, teachers, parents, and representatives rallied outside the Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center near Manassas to voice their concerns and desires on Friday, July 3, 2020.  

At the rally, multiple teachers and representatives spoke up about their grievances, and their desire to be more involved in the reopening plans.

“When certain decisions are made and teachers are left out of the process, it doesn’t seem like there’s much accountability on the part of the superintendent and his staff. So, they have asked for more accountability, so that when something is not done in the correct way, people are called out for it and reprimanded for it, and they have a plan on how to change that,” said Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye.

Teachers asked elected officials to serve as intermediaries between them and the school board.

“Every time I get a comment or concern from a parent or staff member, I have a list that I’m synthesizing of their concerns so that I can bring it up if their questions don’t get addressed,” said Lisa Zargapur, who represents the Coles District on the Prince William County School Board.

Some plans that teachers and these officials discussed include having a teacher representative on the school board and having more support staff and funding for if schools reopen this fall. They have also asked for an open-door policy, where teachers can go directly to the school board and tell them their concerns. 

“Today’s rally was more about hearing from the teachers and staff of Prince William County. Just providing them with an opportunity to share their vision of returning to school safely. I think that there could have been better transparency and inclusion in the process, and I think that today begins a new day to hopefully ensure that that happens,” said the Prince William Education Association President-elect, Maggie Hansford.

At a meeting on Wednesday, July 8, the school board will announce its plans for the upcoming school year.