Chicago canceled classes for a fourth day on Monday as disputes about COVID-19 measures continued.- Teachers voted to return to remote teaching, but the mayor and officials want in-person learning.
Chicago canceled Monday classes for its public schools as a dispute between city officials and the teachers union over COVID-19 measures dragged on.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Sunday that negotiations between the district and the teachers union were taking place, but that not enough progress had been made. So "out of fairness and consideration for parents who need to prepare, classes will be canceled again Monday."
—Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) January 10, 2022
Monday is the fourth consecutive day of class cancellations. Classes were also canceled on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday last week.
The Chicago Teachers Union wants to return to remote learning amid high COVID-19 cases.
The union voted last week to refuse to teach in person until new COVID-19 safety measures were put in or the number of cases fell substantially.
But Lightfoot and Pedro Martinez, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, want in-person learning, as Insider's Matthew Loh previously reported.
Lightfoot was critical of the union and its teachers on Sunday.
"They abandoned their posts, and they abandoned kids and their families," Lightfoot told "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
There are more than 340,000 public-school students in the city.