Nov. 14, 2020 8:40p
(WGTD)---Over 300 complaints from Kenosha Unified staff over how the district is handling COVID-19 mitigation efforts in school buildings have been relayed to administration by the Kenosha Education Association.
At the start of the school year, the district gave students and parents the option of either remote learning or in-person instruction.
The complaints--copies of which were given to WGTD News--show that the process has been far from smooth.
As of Friday, over 220 positive cases of the virus have been confirmed among students and staff. On any given day, hundreds of students and staff are in quarantine.
The district has announced that it won't abide by the county health department's recommendation that it suspend in-person instruction from Thanksgiving week to the holiday break in a bid to stem the current surge of community spread.
It's a decision that has enraged some teachers. The topic is expected to come up at Tuesday's school board meeting, as it's now been ordered placed on every meeting agenda till further notice by the board president.
Although the City of Racine Health Dept. has ordered schools in its jurisdiction to suspend in-building teaching through the end of the year, Kenosha County's health department claims it doesn't have similar powers, according to what it told the teachers' union.
The complaints that have been logged include concerns over non-existent social distancing in some classrooms, the lack of a pro-active stance on quarantine policy, staff shortages, inconsistent interpretation of district policies and mask-use violations.
In an email, KUSD spokesperson Tanya Ruder said the district is following up on the complaints with an eye toward improving things.
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