In an act of civil disobedience, some Kenai parents are removing their students from the Kenai Peninsula Schools until the school district opens for in-person learning.
A petition at Change.org has 138 signatures so far, after the Dec. 7 Kenai School Board meeting in which parents gave overwhelming testimony in favor of a return to normalcy in schools.
The schools remain locked and the president of the Kenai Peninsula Educators Association, David Brighton, has refused to have his union members go back to school until it is deemed 100 percent safe from COVID-19.
“The delay to return to in person education is harming children and families, some beyond repair. The School District’s long term closure is the result of weak, fearful actions and lack of leadership of the Superintendent and the School Board,” the petitions states.
The school board has left the opening of the schools to the superintendent’s discretion, but John O’Brien has declined to act and has given parents no comfort that their children will be served anytime soon.
A Kenai group called “We’re done with distance” started on Facebook and now has over 350 members in just two days. The group is planning on picketing, protesting, and removing their students from the district if the schools are not back in session by Jan. 4.
“Continued isolation is the worst thing that can placed upon children. The unfounded fear, not facts, being used in the decision making, is punishing our students. Forced isolation without proper instruction has caused more harm to our children than a virus with a 98% recovery rate ever will cause,” the group wrote. “Parents on the Kenai Peninsula want schools open for all grades, now. The job of KPBSD is to facilitate educating children, not push an agenda forcing our community into a false sense of safety.”
During the 2019 contract negotiations, the community overwhelmingly supported KPBSD teachers and support staff, according to the petition.” The message used was ‘it’s about the kids.'”
“Now, our children are in a dire crisis. They are not represented by an organized union, they are isolated, and they are suffering while falling further away from a proper education.”
One of the petition sponsors is James Baisden, chief of staff to Kenai Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce. Baisden is also the parent of school-age children in the Kenai School District.
Kenai district schools let out for the Christmas holidays starting on Friday, so the matter of the strike may not have as much effect as intended. State funding for the district is based on October enrollments, and would likely not be impacted by the strike.
