Peninsula teachers vote ‘no confidence’ as superintendent plans more in-person school
Members of the teachers’ union Peninsula Education Association have voted “no confidence” in the performance of the district superintendent during the coronavirus pandemic.
Carol Rivera, President of the union, confirmed to The Gateway that the vote of no confidence took place Thursday evening, Dec. 17, just as the district was announcing plans to bring more students back to school in 2021.
“There is an overwhelming lack of trust between and staff and members,” Rivera said. She said Jarvis had succumbed to “pressure to return to school when we haven’t been ready for a variety of reasons, includes ensuring that all the safety pieces are in place.”
“The no-confidence was specific to Dr. Jarvis,” she said.
The union represents about 620 educators. Rivera said the no-confidence vote was supported by “the vast majority of those present,” but she declined to give the exact result or to say how many educators voted.
A no-confidence vote has no practical effect, but can be used to embarrass an employer or call attention to grievances.
In a statement issued Friday, Peninsula School Board President David Olson expressed continued confidence in Jarvis.
“We were surprised and saddened to learn of the Peninsula Education Association’s (PEA) position announced today about our Superintendent, Dr. Art Jarvis,” he wrote. “We wholeheartedly believe he has done everything in his power to make our schools safe for in-person instruction, as well as considering the social-emotional well-being of our students.”
“Although we respect the opinions of our teachers, our families have overwhelmingly supported our efforts with nearly eighty percent of our K-1 students’ families choosing in-person instruction for their children,” Olson added. “We believe this is what is best for our students and are so excited to see more of them return to our classrooms in 2021.”
“We know the pandemic has been hard on everyone, including our classroom educators,” he said. “District administration will continue to work with the Peninsula Education Association to determine how best to resolve their concerns.”
Rivera said the union is willing to work with the cabinet of the district to proceed.
“The association and our members are committed to ongoing work to bring students back to school safely,” Rivera said. “Our commitment to the district is unwavering. We believe in that work, we want to see that done well.”
“Our educators want to be in-person. It is coming down as its our obligation to insist on those standards and logistics and all those pieces are well thought out before students enter into the schools,” Rivera said.
“I think there is still concern about the metrics in the county. The recent change in the guidance from the governor has people asking more questions. We’ve had some inconsistent application of those metrics and standards and haven’t been able to get a specific answer from Dr. Jarvis about how he is making those decisions and how is following the recommendations of health professionals.”
The vote came following recent actions by Governor Inslee to update guidance on returning to in-person education that relaxed some of the prior restrictions.
In his statement, Olson noted Inslee’s statement that ”data suggests schools are not significant drivers of coronavirus transmission as long as proper safety protocols are in place”
Rivera expressed concern over morale among teachers as they go into break to recharge before coming back to school.
“I think our members are overwhelmed and exhausted,” Rivera said. “It’s been a long fall and I think everyone is grateful we have winter break to recollect ourselves.”
When reached for comment,The district declined to comment though acknowledged internal communications are taking place around the no confidence vote.
In a Dec. 17 email to parents, Superintendent Jarvis said the Peninsula School District intends to bring back all grades for in-person learning in some form.
“We are directing our efforts to be in the position where 2nd grade children join the K-1; where grade 3-5 children return in hybrid; and grade 6-12 students find partial re-entry in a hybrid designed for them,” Jarvis said in the email. “Athletics, drama, music, forensics and similar activities have hope of returning together with teachers and students in classrooms.”
An additional email sent to parents Friday said that no dates have been set in stone, though “we know they would not be returning to campus before Jan. 19.”
The email also contained a survey for parents to use to indicate if they “wish to change the current platform in which your student is learning.” Parents not wanting to change do not need to fill out the survey.
Pilot testing program ends
The district also announced an end to the three-weeks pilot testing program that offered rapid results for COVID-19 in area schools.
In a Dec. 16 email to parents, the district said the program ended this week and encouraged parents to take a survey from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TCPHD), which will also be evaluating the results in the coming weeks.
In an interview with The Gateway, Jarvis said “none of us have given up” even as the pilot comes to its end. Jarvis also said that any possibility of resurrecting the program is largely out of the district’s hands.
“The evaluation part is in the hands of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department,” Jarvis said.
The other key portion comes down to additional CARES Act funding, over which Jarvis has no control.
“I don’t have any magic crystal ball on when the Congress will act or if they will act,” Jarvis said. “We are trying to make our plans on what we do have.”
PSAT tests canceled
The district also announced the cancellation of the annual Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, which is often used to rate students for scholarships. The district typically covers the cost for the assessment so all students are able to take it.
The test has never been canceled before, Jarvis said.
Assistant Superintendent Daniel Gregory said the testing is normally done in October, then was pushed to January.
“The hope was that it would be safe to return to school and accomplish that test in January,” Gregory said. “The guidelines don’t really allow that size of a group to come in nor do we have a place to house that group under the current deadline.”
The district has typically paid for the PSAT test for all 10th- and 11th-grade students.
The email to parents said that “students in 11th grade will have the opportunity to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship program through an alternate method” though did not specify what that alternate method would be saying more information would come in February.
“We have not been informed at this point in time as to what that alternative method is,” Gregory said. “We will stay in frequent communication with the college board so that we can pass that information on to our students and their families as soon as they receive it.”
Gregory said the district is not certain as to whether they will be able to commit to paying for the alternative method whenever that is made available.
“It would be difficult for me to commit to that at this time,” Gregory said. “It all depends upon what that alternative method is.”
One omission from the email is that 10th-graders were not included in the offer extended to make up the test at another time.
“When we offer it to 10th-graders, they just get a preview of it before that 11th-grade year. It’s excellent practice for them,” Gregory said. “Unless the college board makes something available later and we’re able to do it safely, it looks as though that opportunity might not exist this year.”
Reach Chase Hutchinson at chase.hutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 5:56 PM.
