Teachers in Brookline, Massachusetts, are picketing at polling locations during a one-day strike Tuesday over social distancing concerns in classrooms.
The Coolidge Corner voting place is one of a number of locations throughout the city where teachers are calling for more stringent enforcement of coronavirus safety protocols.
The teachers union is accusing the district of reneging on its commitment to maintain six feet of distance inside school buildings and classrooms. The union claims that the superintendent now wants the ability to change that requirement.
"What we don't want is one guy thinking he knows how the science should be interpreted," said Jessica Wender-Shubow, president of the Brookline Educators Union. "And it's going to affect thousands of other people."
The union has voted to go on strike to send a message.
Students won't be impacted, as Tuesday is a professional development day for teachers.
"This is about crowding the classrooms, it's about trying to get more and more kids into the room," said Wender-Shubow. "And that is dangerous."
In a statement, the district said, in part, that the superintendent "does not anticipate changing the six-foot distancing unless something significant happens to change our understanding of best practices … At any point before the end of the school year, the optimal mix of protective measures may be very different and less reliant on distancing."
