No students in class until January? Yes, one N.J. union leader says in urging big delay.

The local teachers’ union president in Paterson says Gov. Phil Murphy should hold off on reopening school buildings until January, and possibly longer, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

John McEntee, president of the Paterson Education Association, said he prefers all-remote learning to the hybrid model embraced by Murphy, in which classes will start on time in September but parents may choose to keep their children home for online learning.

“Look, the schools right now are just not safe to open. I know I am not willing to put my daughter in a school right now,” said McEntee, father of a 7-year-old.

Opening schools in September will result in recurring shutdowns when students and staffers inevitably test positive for the coronavirus, McEntee said in arguing that all school districts, not just Paterson, should delay restarting classes.

“Our union would suggest, at the moment, to set a target date of January and see where they are,” McEntee told NJ Advance Media on Thursday.

“If you can’t meet the target, that’s another conversation. Maybe you set another one for after spring break,” McEntee said.

McEntee went further than the state teachers’ union president, who has said districts do not have enough time to safely reopen buildings on schedule but not given a timeframe.

“We need to step back and let districts decide what’s the right date for them,” Marie Blistan, president of the New Jersey Education Association, said in an interview Wednesday.

It is not clear whether McEntee’s call for at least a four-month delay and all-remote learning will draw support.

Paterson is the state’s third-largest city and nearly a quarter of residents are below the poverty line. Many of the K-12 district’s 30,000 students were lacking computers and Internet access when all schools in New Jersey closed in March and switched to all-remote learning. The district began distributing 7,000 Chromebooks to all high school students in April and launched a fundraising campaign for additional purchases that remains ongoing.

Prior to Murphy’s Monday announcement that all students in New Jersey would have all-remote learning in Paterson, about a third of parents responding to a recent survey indicated they would keep their children home if school buildings open in September.

Murphy’s spokesperson, Alyana Alfaro, did not directly address McEntee’s request for a major delay in opening schools, but said the governor and the state education department “have been in regular and near-daily communication with school administrators, unions, and parents as our state looks ahead to the 2020-2021 school year.”

“These conversations are ongoing and the governor remains committed to finding collaborative solutions that prioritize the safety of both students and staff as we navigate these unprecedented times,” Alfaro said.

Paterson Superintendent Eileen Shafer said officials are moving ahead with students returning to classrooms in September.

“We will continue to keep the lines of communication open with teachers and work with all of the labor organizations in the district to help ensure the health and safety of our students and staff,” Shafer said.

McEntee said his union has initiated a dialogue with 154 other local units from across the state, with the aim of forming a coalition.

“If I could have a magic wand right now, I would have the entire state put everything on pause,” McEntee said.

McEntee has been the Paterson teachers’ union president since 2015 and does not live in Paterson. Discussing his union members of more than 3,000 employees, McEntee said several teachers are undergoing treatment for cancer and one is awaiting a heart transplant.

McEntee said that, by waiting until January, schools would avoid at least the first part of the flu season and “take a little bit of the stressors” out of planning.

“No one is thinking it should be for the whole year, at least at this point,” he said of remote learning.

Blistan said reopening involves numerous challenges, particularly in terms of accommodating social distancing, and that shutdowns due to coronavirus cases seem inevitable.

“It’s very likely at some point buildings, and/or districts, and/or the state – unless we get the vaccine in place – are going to have to be closed intermittently,” Blistan said.

Blistan said that, throughout New Jersey, teachers will be doing their jobs and educating students on schedule, regardless of whether the students are in class or learning from home.

“School is going to be open in September,” she said.

The Paterson district’s reopening plan will be presented to the school board on Monday, Shafer said

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Rob Jennings may be reached at [email protected].