Berkeley teachers union president defends sending daughter to in-person preschool
BERKELEY, Calif. (KTVU) - Some parents in Berkeley are accusing the head of the teachers union of hypocrisy after he was spotted dropping his child off for in-person learning at a private preschool while public schools in the city are still closed.
A group called "Guerilla Momz" posted video of Berkeley Federation of Teachers president Matt Meyer sending his 2-year-old daughter to school.
"Meet Matt Meyer. White man with dreads and president of the local teachers' union," the group wrote in a tweet on Saturday. "He's been saying it is unsafe for *your kid* to be back at school, all the while dropping his kid off at private school."
The group said that even while Meyer has argued that it's not safe to open schools his child is receiving in-person instruction.
Meyer admitted that his daughter attends preschool, but he says the smaller setting is far different than operating a public school district.
"Unfortunately, there are no public options for kids her age. There are significant differences in running a small preschool and running a public school district of almost 9,500 students in terms of size, facilities, public health guidance and services that legally have to be provided," he told KTVU in a statement.
Meyer told KQED, that people following him and his daughter was an intrusion of his child's privacy and "super inappropriate."
The Berkeley Unified School District reached a tentative agreement with the Berkeley Federation of Teachers earlier this month to reopen public schools in March and April, contingent upon staff members receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.