By Jeffrey Caggiano, Republican

Teachers are the lifeblood of our school system. I personally have a strong connection to two educators as my mother retired from the Bristol Public School system and my sister is a current physical education and past teacher of the year here in Bristol.  

We are one-year into the pandemic and science is not evolving on this matter. The history of how devastating this virus is to the elderly is clear. Eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths have been in people 65 and older nationally. The percentage may be even higher here in Connecticut, and the evolving nursing home scandal in New York State should be a quick lesson to our leaders that those that need protection first are the debilitated and elderly.

It looks like the Florida model of mass distribution focused on the elderly over teachers has been most effective to get all available doses in arms the quickest. Connecticut is currently ranked 4th in the country with regards to vaccine distribution and that is a good thing for us all.

I completely agree with Governor Lamont’s policy to prioritize the elderly and the 1B status should not be broken until anyone 65 and older gets the vaccine. In a public health crisis our leaders must refrain from playing politics.

The current vaccination strategy and implementation should continue unchanged and if our goal is to save lives and create herd immunity we are on the right path. However, the call for teachers to jump the vaccine line by the leaders of the national  teachers union or the CEA is just not rational. (I do not believe our local BFT has weighed in on this issue.)

If you are a teacher and 65 and older, register, roll up your sleeve, and return to the classroom safely. Bristol has put in place an effective and comprehensive plan to mitigate spread and has been operating with in-class learning for our students since late this fall.

Not only have they had minimal issues, but this was put in place prior to vaccines being available at all. Teachers and students who are compromised are offered online/hybrid opportunities.

Let’s continue the progress we have made and get back to in-school learning everywhere as we have in Bristol.

Caggiano is the current Bristol Republican Town Committee chair and former member of the Bristol Board of Education.

By Calvin Brown, Democrat

Safety should be the top priority when it comes to fully reopening schools in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is great news that teachers will be included in the category of essential workers that will be opened next week. The CDC has also noted that teachers should be prioritized along with our grocery stores, public transportation and postal carriers.

Students are entitled to the best possible education. Part of ensuring the safest possible learning environment for students is making sure that any teacher or other school-building faculty that wants a COVID-19 immunization vaccine receives one. Fortunately, it does appear that the supply chain for vaccine distribution to hospitals and clinics is improving, so vaccinating the over 600 members of the Board of Education may be possible in a short window.

While vaccines are critical, they are not the only component to safely reopening schools. Temperature scanning should be incorporated for every person that enters a school building. Meticulous cleaning and disinfecting should take place in every room and area of every school building each day. This may require additional maintenance staff and an increase to maintenance budgets.

Finally, it is important to ensure each school building, especially the older ones, have proper ventilation systems to maintain the best possible air quality.

Focusing on health and safety in a holistic way — from vaccinating as many people as possible to improving the condition of the buildings themselves — will improve confidence levels of parents and teachers, as well as ensure that schools can reopen and stay open in the long term.

Brown is a former Democratic councilman representing the District 1.