A Brooklyn principal is under investigation for allegedly instructing roughly 150 teens and adults to eat lunch together in the cafeteria rather than their individual classrooms, flouting school COVID safety guidance and potentially putting students and staff at risk, The Daily News has learned.
Dozens of staff and students Thursday morning crowded into the school cafeteria at the Connie Lekas School for students with complex disabilities in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, under the orders of Principal Antoinette Rose, according to staff accounts and photos — contrary to Education Department guidance instructing schools to serve meals in classrooms whenever possible.
The quarters were too tight to maintain 6 feet of distance, staffers say, and students — some of whom have medical and respiratory conditions that put them at higher risk from the virus — were mostly maskless in order to eat, staffers say.
“A lot of them [the students] are medically fragile, a lot of them have asthma, have respiratory problems that would cause them to be high risk, and they were put in a very risky situation,” said one staffer who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
“There wasn’t enough space to socially distance,” said Ilyana Frias, an Education Department paraprofessional and union representative for the school, who said she received a flood of angry calls from staffers after the lunch debacle.
“They’re right near each other, some students are facing each other, they don’t have masks, they’re less than 6 feet,” she added. “It was a total disregard for our safety and New York State protocols.”
Education Department spokeswoman Danielle Filson said “this extremely troubling allegation goes against our clear health and safety protocols, and will be investigated.”
Staffers say the intention behind the cafeteria edict from Rose may have been laudable. She wanted students to have a hot meal — which can only be served in the cafeteria under Education Department food service rules.
“I absolutely understand about serving hot lunches to our students,” said Frias.
“But not in those conditions, I don’t,” she fumed. “Out of the blue, to make such a harsh decision and to not involve the team who would be putting this in place is not acceptable.”
The Lekas school, like others in the city’s District 75 for students with complex disabilities, reopened for in-person classes Thursday after the entire system was shut down for several weeks.
As soon as school officials announced the plan Thursday morning to hold a group lunch in the cafeteria, staffers — who were accustomed to serving lunch in their individual classrooms — were skeptical.
“I was shocked when I heard there was going to be lunch in the cafeteria,” said one staffer.
“And then when I was in the cafeteria it was even more shocking,” the staffer added.
Teachers were initially told to seat students at every other table. But as kids and staff began flooding in, it became clear there wasn’t enough room, the staffer said.
“As everyone started pouring in it was pretty obvious there was not enough space to skip tables,” the employee recalled. “There wasn’t a lot of social distancing happening. A lot of the students weren’t wearing masks” because they were eating, the staffer added.
When one school staffer on the school’s Building Response Team — the group responsible for overseeing COVID safety measures — protested, they were told the decision was final, said Frias.
Though staffers rushed students through lunch as quickly as they could, they worry there was still enough time for a possible exposure.
“I felt supervulnerable,” said the staffer. “I feel like I was exposed to 100-plus people two days in a row.”
Students at Connie Lekas range in age between roughly 13 and 21. Medical experts have said teenagers may be at higher risk of contracting and transmitting the virus than younger kids. Staffers at the school say mask compliance is already difficult for many students with developmental and physical disabilities — which makes it even more important to maintain physical distance wherever possible.
The city’s school reopening plan stipulates that “breakfast and lunch will likely be served in classrooms, to support social distancing and minimize interaction between groups of students.”
“If the cafeteria must be used, schools must maintain appropriate physical distancing,” the plan continues.
On Friday, the day after students and staff crowded into the Brooklyn cafeteria for the group lunch, Gov. Cuomo announced indoor dining would be banned in New York City amid rising COVID-19 rates.
After a flood of complaints from Connie Lekas staffers Thursday, school officials made a concession: They split the group of 150 into two shifts of 75 for lunch the next day.
But staffers say that’s still not enough to ensure social distancing in the cafeteria.
Adding to the outrage of some staffers: Rose works remotely, and the principal didn’t have to bear the risk of her decision, staffers say.
Union leaders are calling for Rose to lose her job over the lunchtime lapse.
“This principal should be removed,” said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew.
“The health and safety protocols that need to be followed are crystal clear. This should have never happened.”
Mulgrew said the Education Department should expedite testing of students and staffers who were present at the lunch. District 75 schools are supposed to begin the city’s mandatory COVID testing program — which requires 20% of staff and students to get tested weekly — this week.
Rose could not be reached by phone Sunday.
Education Department officials said the agency’s Special Commissioner of Investigation will look into the matter and discipline is possible. Testing will be available at the school on Monday, and the District 75 superintendent will be there to supervise.
Officials added that they’re looking into ways to serve hot meals safely.
