South Orange-Maplewood Education Association

For Immediate Release

02-18-2021

Re: mediation with the board of education to be scheduled for next week

The South Orange-Maplewood Education Association (SOMEA) will be meeting with a state appointed mediator from the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) tomorrow, February 19, to discuss plans for meeting with the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education and district leadership. It is anticipated that the two parties will participate in mediation next week. SOMEA hopes to reach a resolution that will be both a safe and sustainable action plan for reopening the schools and buildings to in-person instruction.

SOMEA takes their responsibility for student safety seriously, and the situations being reported by members in the buildings have led SOMEA leadership to believe that it was not safe to return. There are too many unanswered questions that need to be resolved. The goal since March 2020, has always been to return to the classroom as soon as it was safe to do so. We miss our students, we miss each other, and we miss being a part of a community. We’re hoping for an action plan that bears all that in mind.