With an apparent successful reopening of elementary and middle schools, the Los Alamitos Unified School District administration had to revert to some quick action to avoid a somewhat surprising walkout by concerned high school teachers.

Teachers, both for and against reopening, laid bare most of their feelings at Tuesday’s board meeting (see related story) and the teacher’s union startled the administration with the notification of a pending work stoppage on Friday.

In an emergency meeting Saturday morning, the school board gave Dr. Pulver the authority and administrative tools he would have needed to bring in substitutes and other measures required to open the high school on time Tuesday, September 29.

The board voted 5-0 on Saturday to pass the 12-page emergency resolution, giving Pulver the authority to begin hiring substitute teachers if necessary. The emergency powers were ultimately not needed.

Apparently, more than 100 teachers met virtually Sunday in their own emergency forum and agreed to report to work on Tuesday.

Despite all of the bruised feelings and hard comments, Pulver had high praise for teachers Wednesday morning. “We’ve been able to meet the concerns of our (high school) teachers and they are here today, ready to welcome our students,” said Pulver.

David Eisenberg, a science teacher who had leveled very pointed concerns at the board on Tuesday during their regular meeting, reportedly said union leaders are now sufficiently convinced that the Pulver administration had “started listening” to what teachers need.
“With 125 teachers, it’s hard because they all have their own sentiments,” the superintendent said, but “we are so pleased to have students and teachers back on campus.”

With the drama out of the way, Los Alamitos High School opened as scheduled, marking the reopening of all schools in the district. “It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to welcome our students back,” said Pulver.

Pulver, who has visited many campuses during the past three weeks as he insisted on a “phased re-opening, with a week between the opening of elementary schools, middle schools and finally the high school.

“It’s quite an accomplishment,” he said. He also credited the hard work of parents who have obviously done their part to get students ready to wear masks and adhere to protocols. “It really makes a difference to see all the kids reconnect.”

The superintendent said he was struck by all of the organizations that went out of their way to make signs, create special dance routines, and the general joy of the students as they returned to the high school.

Pulver said he was especially happy to see teachers utilizing the open spaces created on campus that gave teachers an option for moving out of their classrooms.

“It’s going really well,” said LAUSD board member Marlys Davidson, who was assigned to monitor the opening of Los Alamitos High School. Like Pulver, Davidson reported student government representatives were at each entrance of LAHS “playing music” to welcome students back to campus.

“Teachers are doing their jobs, some are teaching in the shade and that’s great,” she added.

With schools back in session, Pulver said the role now is to meticulously monitor the many health and safety aspects of the reopening plan. “Our plan is nimble and able to react to conditions on the ground,” he said.

Ironically, during Tuesday’s meeting, while Pulver did not mention any of the teachers who spoke up last week by name, he had clearly been listening to their concerns as he listed dozens of changes to the reopening plan.

New concerns brought up later in the meeting have apparently been addressed since then.
“We have said all along that our reopening plan would be very fluid,” said Pulver, noting that they have modified the plan regularly since it was created during the summer.

Nevertheless, at Tuesday’s board meeting, teachers from Los Al High and the two middle schools paraded their complaints at the board’s most recent meeting (see related story).

They questioned the testing plan and expressed little confidence in some of the facilities’ infrastructure, especially the ventilation systems.

Without mentioning specific teachers by name, the superintendent had addressed their concerns during his superintendent’s report.

“We are not the public health experts,” said Pulver, adding that even though current state standards would permit the system to open more fully, “we’ve chosen a very cautious approach.”

State law mandates school districts comply with guidelines issued by the California Department of Public Health, which are administered locally by the Orange County Health Care Agency, he said.

While the OCHCA has super testing sites available for LAUSD employees, Pulver said “staff wanted more, so they could be tested on their own time.”

Accordingly, Pulver announced Tuesday that the district has contracted with Express Urgent Care which has brought testing directly to students and staff. This had been a major concern expressed by teachers.

Moreover, Pulver reported the results from the first round of testing were all negative.
Dr. Joe Fraser will supervise contract tracing when and if a positive test occurs, as he recited the plan for notifications, quarantines, etc., he said.
Regarding air ventilation concerns, Pulver said engineers have inspected every HVAC system and installed the “highest rated filtration” units that the systems were capable to facilitate.

Moreover, Pulver said HEPA (high efficiency particulate absorbing) air purifiers have been purchased “for every classroom.”

The superintendent said his team found the best recommendation from other school districts then purchased a model slightly more powerful than was recommended.

The new devices were expected to be delivered to LAUSD this Friday, said Pulver.
He said air will generally be refreshed twice per hour in most classrooms.

Dr. Nancy Nien, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services reported that the district has been able to lock in lower interest rates for both Measure M and Measure G.

Taxpayers approved both measures to provide physical infrastructure to the district’s campus facilities.

Measure K was passed in 2008, while Measure G was passed in 2018 and provides for an additional $98 million (approximately) in improvements.

With record low interest rates, Nien said the financial team has successfully refinanced both measures, obtaining a 2.57 percent interest rate for Measure K, and a 2.24 percent interest rate for the newer Measure G.

Combined over the cumulative lifespan of the remaining years on each of the 30-year bonds, said Nien, district taxpayers will save approximately $40 million over the life of the bonds.

She said the combined refinancing of Measure K will save $8.5 million and the new interest rates on Measure G will save district taxpayers $29 million.

Pulver thanked Nien saying “you and your team are good stewards of our money.” The superintendent thanked Dr. Nien and her team for demonstrating an ability to save taxpayers significant amounts of money while providing sufficient funding to “finish all of the projects.”

Signaling many of the same arguments that undoubtedly led to a potential walkout, unhappy teachers again lined up to voice their concerns to the board and administration of the Los Alamitos Unified School District on Tuesday.

This time, however, there were community members and teachers who expressed satisfaction and even joy about having students finally back in classrooms, albeit in a hybrid setting.

At first, with more than twenty speakers waiting to speak, board president Meg Cutuli expressed the potential of perhaps shortening the statements to two minutes each.
After hearing opposition from board member Karen Russell, however, Cutuli said they would each have their three minutes to speak.

Cutuli did get approval from the board to extend the oral communications section of the meeting from the usual allotment of 30 minutes to an unlimited period, so they could all speak.

“Truly, I feel safer at school right now than I do at Target or Costco,” said Hopkinson 2nd grade teacher Traci Rynski. With more than three decades of experience, Rynski thanked the board and said, “the magic is back.”

Some high school teachers expressed fear and generally, were more concerned about the safety of their lower grade counterparts.

“I miss my students, I miss laughing with them,” said high school teacher Pauline Grimshaw. Nevertheless, Grimshaw told the board “I did not sign up for this gig to teach through a screen.” She wondered “why are we rushing to reopen,” as Grimshaw pointed out how devastating it would be to have to shut down schools because they opened too quickly.

Many high school teachers gave very technical reasons for their discomfort.

“Good ventilation equals six fresh air exchanges per hour,” said teacher Erin Erice, “which means the air in an enclosed space is completely replaced with fresh air six times per hour.
“Dr. Pulver mentioned the new HEPA filters, saying they provide two fresh air refreshes per hour and this does not go far enough,” she said.

Erice and others mentioned the so-called 700’s building at Los Al, a part of the school that apparently has some classrooms that have no windows or other access to fresh air.

Drew Sells, who is a coach and teacher, apparently teaches in one of those rooms, appeared at the last meeting and again this past week, and said the rooms in the 700 building are approximately 1,000 square feet, which in no way will facilitate proper social distancing for more than 20 students.

“So, I’m asking you how do we take this many people and stick them in a classroom by size that has bad ventilation and a mask policy that’s very suspicious,” said Sells.

He said his son attends middle school in the district and that his classrooms have been

“substantially remodeled.” He said those classrooms were better equipped “by a factor of 10.”

Head tennis coach Maria Kibtya said, “teachers and students are on the same side. We want to keep each other safe.” She complained, however, that the reopening plan had added rules “that even adults were having trouble with.”

“Do we want to become the example of what not to do in a pandemic,” she asked?
Teacher Cynthia Nunez wondered, “why are we rushing into this when there is so much uncertainty about what could happen?”

Cynthia Hopkins pleaded for additional support for people wanting “to ask district decisionmakers for more time ensuring that a safe, organized and manageable plan is in place.”

Teacher Rachel Lindahl suggested the current plan would cut valuable instruction time from college bound students and teacher Laurie Anderson suggested teachers not return until

LAUSD is prepared to uphold the “high standards” that “students deserve.”

“Reopening during a pandemic is a complex issue,” said teacher David Eisenberg, which includes “logistical and structural issues that must be resolved.” Eisenberg suggested the district has misled, saying “the district and its board have chosen expediency over safety” and that “we feel that the district has used complex and legal language to mislead or obfuscate the truth from all stakeholders.” Proper social distancing is simply not possible at Los Al High, he said.

Eileen Smith, of Seal Beach, a longtime teacher, said “reckless decisions” and “missteps in the curriculum pedagogy and distance learning is one thing, but the poor decision of opening in person on Tuesday may cost a life and I’m not comfortable with that decision.”

There were many teachers, some parents and family members, who were very supportive of the district’s reopening and safety plan. Some teachers questioned why the complaining teachers did not choose to teach distance learning when they could choose.

“I respect Eileen. I respect all of the teachers and what they’re saying,” said Robert Mendoza, “but we have to get back and go to school, go to work and go forward.”

“We cannot keep waiting,” he said, noting that he was “scared to death that we’re going to have a generation of kids with no social skills.” Many kids, including his own, one of whom is a Los Al senior, are resorting to coping mechanisms that he did not think were good for their mental health.

“We’ve got to get back to where we were,” he said, noting that all of the back and forth was not productive. “There is a middle [ground] somewhere and we have to find it.”

If students get infected, said Mendoza, it is “not likely to be at school.”

“Even if you have to open a window, open the doors and get a fan on one end and a fan on the other, do it,” he urged.

I’m standing here today to say thank you,” said middle school teacher Wendy Hearn, “but also to admit to being confused that there is now a push to not start in person instruction by a group of teachers, who it is my understanding, chose not to teach LosAl@Home.”

“Honestly, I seriously debated whether to stand up here tonight and go against colleagues whom I respect but do not agree with,” she added.

Teacher Kerry Rabelo said having kids back in school is good for their mental health and their education, noting the extraordinary relationships her own children have developed with their teachers. “Relationships like these are built in the classroom, not over a computer,” she said.

Teacher Kerry Rabelo said “countless hours have been spent listening to our concerns and making the necessary changes no matter what the cost, no matter the inconvenience, they tirelessly work for the best for our students,” though she said online instruction still needs work.

Corey Barnett, a firefighter and paramedic, whose wife and mother both teach in the system, and whose children attend Los Al schools, said “I feel it’s safe for my children and my wife.”

Barnett, who said he’d been on the COVID frontlines since March, said “it has been the most challenging six months of my career.”

“We’ve learned how to care for the public while protecting ourselves in the process,” said Barnett. “This is a virus we can live with,” he said, “and no longer need to hide from.”

By following the procedures that have been put forth, “we can make this a safe return.”
Autumn Igo, a parent, said, “I know you’re working hard to provide the best education for kids.”“I think that I’ve heard a lot of people express distrust of the situation and I don’t see that you have given us any reason to distrust anything that that has happened,” she said.

“I feel like you have guided us through the opening of the elementary schools and through middle schools with humility.”

Finally, parent Joe Stolinovich, who is a retired first responder with a Masters in Emergency Management, and who works for a very large company where he serves as the “Chief Contingency Officer,” said Dr. Pulver’s Reopening and Safety Plan is “not haphazard.” “I assure you it is based on industry standards and protocols,” said Stolinovich, who said he is a professional in the field.

Even though slowed a bit by COVID, the process of including ethnic studies into the Los Alamitos Unified School system is already underway, Board President Meg Cutuli reported Tuesday.

“We’ve already started that process,” said Cutuli in her report to the school board Tuesday.
In addition, Cutuli introduced Nadia Williams, the new Teacher on Special Assignment that will have now have the responsibility of becoming a resources for all teachers as they seek to refine their policies and procedures to improve, diversity, inclusion and equity.

In a dramatic meeting earlier this year, dozens and dozens of students created a long list of concerns and complaints about various incidents over the years.

Cutuli said the revamped diversity effort will now be called the Human Relations Advisory Council and that they are currently performing parent/teacher outreach.