We call on Superintendent Joe Gothard and Saint Paul Public Schools to delay the reopening of schools until all educators and school staff providing in-person learning and support have the opportunity to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

Students and educators need to be back in school buildings – but it needs to safe. Vaccinations are the best layer of protection we can provide for our communities.

Vaccinating school staff will also ensure the consistency and stability our students, families and educators desperately want and need. If community spread is high and a new, more contagious strain of the virus emerges, there won’t be enough adults to staff our school buildings because they are sick or quarantining. And there aren’t nearly enough substitutes to fill those vacancies.

Let’s make sure when we open our schools, they stay open.