“Yesterday afternoon, we received a counter-proposal from CTU management and responded with our latest, best and latest offer,” Mayor Lightfoot said in a statement. “Today we expect a response from the CTU leadership. Today we will make more statements later about the school on Monday.”
At a press conference Thursday morning, Lightfoot demanded an immediate deadline, saying, “We have to reach an agreement today.”
SEE: Mayor Lightfoot discusses CPS and CTU negotiations Thursday morning
Earlier in the day, Lightfoot attacked CTU leaders for failing to submit the proposal earlier and reiterated what steps the city has taken to ensure security. He said CTU created chaos and the ball is in his field.
“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t do it yesterday, neither Tuesday nor Monday,” Lightfoot said. “But today is the day, my patience is over.”
In an open letter sent Thursday morning, the CTU said, “We cannot return to face-to-face instruction until we have made further progress with the district on CDC-based health metrics, allowing educators with medically family members vulnerable people continue to teach at a distance “. and meet the real needs of equity for the vast majority of our students, particularly Black and Latinx students who continue to learn at a distance. “
Lightfoot said negotiations took “a series of steps backwards” on Wednesday after taking several steps forward on issues such as teacher testing and vaccinations.
He said the city “waited hours” for a proposal on other CTU issues that never came up.
CPS has invested $ 100 million in school safety mitigations and Jackson accused CTU of ignoring experts.
“It bothers me that we continue to see people ignoring what scientists are saying, like Dr. Fauci, Dr. Arwady, and even yesterday, the head of the CDC,” Jackson said.
The district has agreed to vaccinate 1,500 CTU members a week. But the CTU is calling for the number to increase as more vaccines become available.
“We are dedicated to vaccinating this group, but I want to reinforce that vaccination is not necessary for the safe reopening of the school,” said Dr. Allison Arwady of the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Lightfoot said the city’s positivity rate has dropped; children should go back to school and parents should have this option. The mayor and the city health commissioner said that with safety mitigation, the school can be carried out safely.
Dr. Arwady said that when there are mitigations in place (masks, distancing, pods), face-to-face learning can be a safe environment.
Some CPS parents on Thursday morning expressed distrust of the district at a CTU press conference regarding the safe return in person.
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“I don’t think CPS has been completely transparent about how its reopening plan is working; they’ve constantly changed it before,” CPS mother Dulce Jimenez said.
Lightfoot said he expects teachers to return to school as soon as possible, but did not give an appointment.
Friday is a day off for students, so the first thing they could come back to is Monday.
In a document obtained by ABC 7 from sources close to the negotiating table, it appeared that CPS and CTU had reached an interim agreement on testing and were close to an agreement on vaccines.
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The two sides have not reached an agreement on health metrics that would trigger classroom closure and accommodation for those caring for people with underlying health conditions.
CPS and CTU are still hoping to avoid a strike.
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