Oakland teachers say millions marked for coronavirus safety in schools remains untouched

OAKLAND, Calif. - Some parents and teachers rallied in Oakland on Thursday, upset about the school district's COVID-19 policies. 

The Oakland Education Association organized rallies around the city because they are worried that virus cases seem high and the testing remains inefficient. The teachers union says tens of millions of dollars in funds earmarked for coronavirus safety remain untouched.

The Oakland Unified School District adopted the first COVID vaccine mandate in Northern California for students aged 12 and up earlier on Thursday. 

The union said they want the district to have a COVID testing site on every campus with expanded hours.

SEE ALSO: 'I just didn’t think it was going to happen on day one': Oakland schools students exposed to COVID

"We're here because our schools aren't safe," said Shula Dien, an English language development teacher. "We don't have access to weekly COVID testing at our schools so if a kid is exposed to the virus, they are missing a lot of days at school  just because they can't even get a COVID test at a school site. 

In the past week, 31 and 8 teachers tested positive for the virus and a class at Lincoln Elementary is in quarantine. 

A school district spokesman told KTVU that the district has conducted more COVID tests than any school district in Northern California. 

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