Fresno Teachers Association president says it is “abundantly clear” that schools cannot reopen safely by the first day of school amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“For the safety and well being of students, we can’t as an organization agree to return to an unsafe learning environment,” FTA President Manuel Bonilla said during a Zoom community meeting Tuesday afternoon. About 1,000 people attended the meeting.

The FTA has analyzed safety guidelines put out by health experts, Bonilla said, it’s “very clear” schools can’t reopen safely.

“It’s not a question of the desire to return back to the classroom,” he continued. “Everybody understands the most optimum learning environment is in the classroom.”

Bonilla said the conversation needs to shift to how the Fresno Unified School District can improve distance learning and make it as effective as possible.

During the meeting Tuesday, teachers outlined a list of issues they said distance learning ineffective last school year, including a “lack of structure; no systemic support or training; lack of district communication; mixed communication; poor communication; no grading; poor attendance; no internet or technology access.”

Comments from the Fresno teachers union come a day after the two largest school districts in the state, Los Angeles and San Diego Unified School District’s, announced classes would all be online in the fall. Fresno Unified is the third-largest school district in California.

Fresno Unified’s position on reopening schools is still unclear, but Superintendent Bob Nelson said people can expect an update on Friday. District spokesperson Nikki Henry on Tuesday echoed Nelson’s previous comments.

“For the past two weeks, in light of the recently-increasing COVID-19 case counts in Fresno County, we have also been discussing a fully digital instructional model to begin our school year,” Nelson said.

On Tuesday, Fresno Unified Trustee Veva Islas said on her Facebook page “school will unlikely reopen in a couple of weeks however we can not allow education to fail.”

Positive COVID-19 cases have continued to increase since June.

Last week, Nelson urged parents to decide whether their children would return to school or choose an online learning model. Although parents and teachers were frustrated because they were being asked to make this decision without enough information on what in-person and remote classes would look like.

“I feel like there is a lack of transparency here,” Fresno parent Erika Ireland told The Bee last week. “I would really like to have some town hall meetings with parents that are in Fresno Unified and have the board members there and have Bob Nelson there and listening to what we want to talk about.”

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 4:17 PM.