Conaway ​“Regrets” Career High Covid-19 Vote

Thank you Mr. Conaway for your understanding our our concern. Although your reconsideration does not change the vote, your public statement of now-regret is appreciated.

Thank you Mr. Conaway for stepping up and being able to admit when you got it wrong. You displayed the fact that you are human and that people can get it wrong but realize when they do and try to make it right. This is something we didn't have with previous members. It takes a big person to realize this and go public. You will always have my support for being for the people.

👏🏽 👍🏽 ✊🏽

New Haveners are in the middle of a national health crisis. Many people have become sick with the novel coronavirus. Some have died. The Elicker administration has made numerous decisions and actions to help prevent the further spread of the virus and further deaths in our city.
One of those decisions involved the use of Career High School as a medical shelter for homeless persons who have contracted mild forms of COVID-19. Career has long been designated as a regional emergency shelter for these reasons: its centralized location, its proximity to two hospitals, its location on a major road, and reimbursable federal support.
Career was the logical, reasonable choice. The racial makeup of the neighborhood had nothing to do with this decision, as some have stated.
At the March 23 Board of Education meeting, member Darnell Goldson, who had previously publicly expressed opposition to Career's selection as a shelter for homeless people sick with the virus, proposed a resolution asking Mayor Elicker to reconsider the use of Career to house the homeless. Goldson stated that the intent of his resolution was to let the public know what HIS position was.
As we all now know, the Board voted down Goldson's resolution, 5-2.
There was no confusion about Goldson's resolution. It was made to publicly register his opposition to using Career. The resolution did not apparently call for consideration of another location, or further discussion on the matter.
That is why Board member Larry Conaway's recantation of his vote against Goldson's resolution, and his explanation four days later appears so strange, as if he was caught off guard. Did he feel pressure from anyone to change his vote? Was there a misunderstanding? Did he sincerely believe he made the wrong decision?

Continued...
Mr. Conway has a right to change his mind. He is not the first BOE member to regret a vote cast at a meeting.
Nevertheless the BOE vote, which really was a mere formality, remains unchanged. Career will be the location for the medical shelter for the homeless.
A small group of residents and a few politicians have voiced opposition to this plan. Two of their greatest concerns are the fears that the sheltered homeless will increase the spread of the virus in the Hill neighborhood, and that the school will become a permanent breeding ground, exposing students and staff to infection once school is reopened.
Medical facts should allay such unfounded fears and concerns. The research from reputable medical experts, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, shows that COVID-19 is primarily contracted through direct contact with infected persons who may or may not have symptoms. This is NOT limited to the homeless! The research on this virus also shows that COVID-19 cannot live on surfaces for long duration. Depending on the type of surface, the virus can live between 2 minutes and 5 days, not weeks, months and years.
There is no basis in fact that Career would be contaminated for a lengthy time period if used as a medical shelter.
It might be advisable for the BOE to partner with the Health Department to inform parents and students with medical facts to squash the rumors circulating around town.
This virus knows no race, ethnicity, neighborhood, economic status or politics. It attacks ALL humans!
This is not a time for divisive fear-mongering, race-mongering or political grandstanding.

Conclusion...
The lives of the people of this city, state and nation are at risk. We are in a state of war against this virus. Victory against this pandemic can only come through united action and cooperation. Whether more people live or die depends on our unity.
We are in this together. It must not be the Hill versus the Ville versus East Rock, West Rock, West Hills and the East Shore. It is time to lay aside political differences and disputes and work together for the COMMON GOOD and GENERAL WELFARE of all of New Haven.
For some who are so adamant that the decision to pick Career was racially motivated, would their concerns and protests be the same if Toni Harp was mayor and made the same decision?

Thank you Mr. Conaway for admitting your mistake. Just like you, I am very concerned about the safety of the building when the Career students and staff return. Who knows how well the custodial staff can clean the building? Also, the vast majority of NHPS buildings have poor ventilation systems, what airborne issues will be continue to exist when it is reopened?

Thank you Mr. Conway for your honesty. As a New Haven resident, Career would be the last place that should be considered. Just think about the concern young people would have walking in even if they sanitized it. New Haven has empty buildings and can even just rent one temporarily rather than even use the colleges or schools around. The previous Riverside building would be good and next to Columbus shelter.

A double minded person is unstable in all his ways. Being a good decision maker, a person must look for outcomes that surpasses expectations that ultimately build trust and relationship. Well the school hvac system is not built for the homeless, but it's perfect for the students, staff and parents.

Not one of these supporters to not include Career have any substance to their reasoning why, but their underlying biases towards the homeless. Do they not trust the orginal construction plans for Hill Regional Career High when it was built...hmmm ..

Hvac systems are engineered to maintain good indoor air quality through adequate ventilation with proper filtration while providing comfort..Hvac systems manufactures offer certain control measures. Im sure, the hvac cleaning is done by a vendor because the school custodian would not have the expertise to take on this task...Are the students benefitting from this now? No.

These folks will have a problem with any school temporarily housing the homeless because of their blatant discrimination towards this class..

They look at the homeless as being dispecable when infact they are actual beneath some of them..there are doctors, lawyers and high level professional homeless people that if once they get themselves together they will rise to the occasion and be on top.

It is down right distasteful and vile when most of these opposes wear a hat that must encounter the public. I support the decision to use the school..never thought I would say this good choice Harp especially to see the school her late husband architecturally designed was perfectly suited to house "anyone".

Well... Mr.Conway gotta add you to the list of no empathy nor compassion to the homeless.

THANK YOU Mr. Conaway for publicly sharing your regrets/concerns. As a parent of a student that attends Career....I am in no way saying that the homeless population does not need a place to be treated, I am however very disappointed that Mayor Elicker is not willing to review other sites. I am also agitated with people who think we should not be concerned and have a say in this. From what I can see the Mayor did not follow proper protocol when he named Career as the site. The comments on this thread indicate this virus is NOT airborne.....no one has been able to confirm that hence the 6 feet distance!!! It was also stated the school was chosen because of the proximity to the hospitals....there at other available buildings within the same proximity. If schools do reopen this year, I am not comfortable sending my child back. Since the BOE took it upon themselves to approve this they should have options for our children should they return. Our children should be able to transfer to another school or they should be able to finish the year on line.......

Thomas Alfred Paine.. your dissertation failed to recognize or acknowledge that the burdens of community service is repeatedly put on the shoulders of non predominantly white communities. No one has ever suggested that this virus or any ailment is a reflection of this community but rather it is ALWAYS the location to work with it or fix it regardless to the fact that the problems exists in ALL COMMUNITIES. The communities with the most financial resources ALWAYS seem to manage to manipulate problems to be resolved in specific communities other than their own. From HIV/AIDS ,homelessness,to addiction services etc it is repeatedly SHOVED at the black and brown communities with NO consideration for putting it in their own backyards. This has carried over int o our OWN NEW HAVEN. The ideas that certain communities are valued less than others played out very vividly this year when parochial schools chose to consolidate. The uproar that children SHOULD NOT BE EXPOSED to the living conditions ,services etc of a given neighborhood were valued a significantly undesirable verse those of a less brown community ..In reverse this is the case with rehab facilities, treatment centers etc... So here we are again with the least financially secure again being sent to a specific location with no consideration that a significant portion of homeless come from surrounding towns such as MILFORD, WEST HAVEN, CLINTON..yet they still aren't willing to OWN these facts. Articles produce by the publication have documented suburbanites dropping their issues off for treatment and babysitting to our black and brown communities. Being a designated FEDERAL emergency location wasnt based upon the premise of this scenario by any stretch of the imagination. The reality is people are just plain and simply tired of their community being the we have no say backyard!

To those who are trying to reduce this discussion to an "us (the local community, teachers, students) vs them (the homeless community)" debate, I'm disappointed in your Trump lime "divide and conquer" strategy. Those of us who don't support using Career don't want ANY infected persons housed there.

To Thomas Alfred Paine, misinformation hidden in a lot of words is still misinformation. To suggest that "the intent of the resolution was to let the public know what HIS position was" is absolutely incorrect. The public already knew my position through various news reports and interviews. The intent was to let the public know what the board's position was.

Even worse was another statement you made; "the resolution did not apparently call for consideration of another location." Again, untrue. The resolution states that the city should "instead identify a more appropriate site."

And to suggest that Conaway acknowledged his mistake publicly because he "received pressure" and to question whether "he sincerely believed he made the wrong decision" is insulting and downright rude. But not surprising coming from you.

For all, please read the actual resolution below.

Resolution Related to Use of Career High School During the COVID-19 Crisis

3.23.2020

We the Board of Education respectfully requests that Mayor Justin Elicker reconsiders the use of Career High School as a hospital/shelter for persons infected with COVID-19 and instead identify a more appropriate site for said use.

The school lacks a negative airflow system, teachers and students' personal items are currently stored int eh building, and not enough is known about the life and transmission of the virus, as well as potential mutations.

Additionally, the population which will be housed there may be quarantined against their will and can be expected to attempt escape into the surrounding community. The school is not secure enough to guarantee against escapes and is not appropriate to be used a pseudo prison.

I'd say he went from logically thinking and caring about where the sick homeless people should stay to be close to the hospitals, to caring about votes in his next election.

@ missthenighthawks,

Nice try, and I guess you all will keep doing so. This is MOT about where to house HOMELESS infected, this is about where to house ALL infected. The attempt to make this a Us vs the homeless gets weaker and weaker every time you repeat it.

And to just to prove how misinformed you are, Mr. Conaway is not elected to the BOE, he is appointed by the mayor. So for him to take a position counter to mayor's position on this school is not only brave, but also could be used by the mayor to NOT reappoint him. It is clear he cared less about his position on the board and more about doing the right thing.

I on the other hand am elected. So you have two reps in the board who have taken the same position. Please explain your argument that it is related to electability.

I applaud Mr Conaway's bravery to first admit his mistake and second to do so I'm a way that puts him direct danger of not being reappointed by this mayor.

Get ready for force quarantine,Taking bets.This will be Ned Lamont's next move as the numbers go up.

I agree that Hill Regional Career H.S. is awkward because it is not adequately equipped to house persons who are infected with a virus. This can be solved by the addition of a negative airflow system - retrofit/prep-work as has been suggested that such a system is not installed.

Specifically, virus or no virus - housing or no housing, the installation of a negative airflow system is not a bad idea anyway and I am glad that Darnell suggested it in his writings.

Personally, if it were up to me, as pop-up hospitals are being put up in NYC Central Park, perhaps such an option can be considered at the parking lot of Career H.S. so as to not affect the High School building itself.

Further, and more pointedly, hoping to not sound overly optimistic or perhaps pessimistic, I don't think (and this is only an opinion) that this virus fiasco will really reach some type of wild "peak" that has been projected but that the virus epidemic will malinger for quite a while. I base this belief on a couple of factors.

First, most all infected who survived likely will not be re-infected because of immunity.

Second, the ongoing practice of distancing and self-quarantine will keep new infection rates low.

Third, prolonging the infection of uninfected persons still leaves those uninfected persons susceptible to infection. Specifically, without a vaccine, uninfected persons who do not have immunity to the virus can easily get infected.

Possibly the dire and apocalyptic scenarios of many dead which are presented are possible but that so is the possibility of a slow-burn where infection rates are kept low, thus deaths are kept low but not fully eliminated.

Additionally, there is the lunatic fringe that is against inoculation - in the fall, when I took my Grandson to get the flu shot at Yale Pediatric, one of the nurses went to great lengths to explain the unnecessity of the flu shot in front of my Grandson causing him to eye me coldly.

Part 1

I find it very comical that 1 board member will speak for all the board members, not even the President of this board thought of this idea. When we know that only 2 more voting members of the board are partaking in the foolish opportunity to undermind our city emergency plan. These 3 board members, some Alders along with a small group of people in the neighborhood decided to concoct different reasons of disproportionate number of social services in the area, use of Career will cause neighbors and children to get infected with COVID-19 and school don't have a negative airflow system..Like I said before it is to mask their discriminating bias towards the homeless in agreement with this outspoken and boisterous member. Today there are doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff or anyone on the front line treating COVID-19 patients in negative airflow rooms and still being infected by means of transmission and dying. COVID-19 is known to be transmitted by droplets, and can live on certain surfaces including in these negative airflow systems. So I do see that negative airflow term floating around facebook and medical staff are still dying..its really does not make any sense..I have also researched FEMA 453 Risk Management guideline for designing shelters and safe rooms that act as standby systems that protect against any credible threat to society that could possibly lead to a large number of fatalities lacking any instruction to our Gov or Mayor to check with a small group of people who has amnesia about the chosen schools and whom they will pick who can be temporarily housed in these shelters or safe rooms. I'm pretty sure, Director Fontana knows how to do his job as he is guiding our Mayor during this life and death crisis on any egress and life safety strategies for all involved.

Part 2
@ Darnell,
Since you speak for 3 members of the board it is my hope that noone finds themselves and their families facing any economic or societal challenges that can potentially affect their opportunities considering there are a vast number of social and financial shifts in the economy nationally and locally. Some homeless people are not on drugs, don't commit crimes, don't drink alcohol, don't have mental problems, not begging for money. Some of them are very intelligent and would definitely give a person their shirt off their back. Its bad people who hid behind their high rolling professions that form assumptions and stigmatize them for their looks. The city has a plan to clean each school used during this pandemic within 72 hours. I hope the child who attends BTW with COVID-19 is allowed back in that school because they probably was infected by a staff or another parent. Children enter the school with other infectious airborne viruses everyday and no side meeting was held. It is nonsense, it bring about awareness who should not be on a board relating to the public..Afterall the Board of Ed has had it short comings with 4 supers in 3 years and host of lawsuits. People are watching and a flourshing win on a ballot may not ever present itself because of discriminating towards the homeless. Mr. Conaway seeking time for a broader discussion is unwise during this pandemic.

My letter of resolution to the small complaining group is to choose a better time to oppose a decision because people are dying. Get some sensitivity and conscious bias training to learn the boundaries of not discriminating. Step down from any public boards, if you have any biases. And read the article below.. it will cut out some of the foolishness


Infection and ventilation - Natural Ventilation for Infection Control in Health-Care Settings - NCBI Bookshelf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143278/

@ Bfly

Save the self righteous theatrics. The fact that you keep falling back on the Us bs the homeless argument shows how weak your argument is.

Second, I don't lead anyone. I am one of 7 voting board members. Dr.Jackson is savvy and well educated doctor and business person who has her own mind and makes her own decisions. Larry Conaway is a well educated school administrator/former principal who certainly doesn't follow me around. The fact that you insult those people so easily while brown nosing Mayor Elicker says a lot about who you are.

Third, 3 out of 4 board members is not a "small group", it is 43% of the board, and cannot be easily dismissed by you or anyone else.

Let's see if your precious shelter/hospital/prison ever opens. There are very few medical professionals who are available and willing to work in that death trap, and even fewer now that all of these other options (as we suggested) like UNH, SCSU, hotels, etc are now coming on line. Career is likely already dead. Find another Elicker bandwagon to ride.

@ Darnell

You are correct. You do not lead anyone. The current board has the correct quorum split to cut loose the shenanigans and real progress can happen instead of wish-washy voting that caused our deficits to increase in our education system from thousands to millions of dollars in poor decisions.

If the CDC doctors are baffled..please elborate on how a local doctor has the answers...remember medical staff are amomgst the deceased 🤔 and I'm not taking from the fact that Mr.Conaway is not intelligent but him changing his decision is null in void.

One other note..could we please stop using the word "brown" people, IMO, we as blacks are
calling ourselves that word spelling it backwards...and that's just common sense...we gotta do better!

People need to focus on this Quarantine...they are doing the MOST!

Mr.Conaway, As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I thank you for your statement and understanding.

@Bfly,

Did you cut and paste that link to the study? I'm convinced that you did not, because it has several recommendations which insist that negative airflow and venting to the outside is the best way to reduce transmission of infectious viruses, though it also admits that there are very limited studies. It backs our argument 100% that the information is limited, and with this new virus even more so.

I like debating people like you who do not read or research the subject before spewing "facts". Have even more love for the the ones who cut and past links to studies without reading them, which eventually support the opposition's position.

Keep up the good work. 👍🏽 Please send us some more links supporting our position, I'll be happy to use them during my BOE debates on this issue.

Congrats to my beat researcher, BFly.

@Bfly,

BTW, brown spelled backwards is nworb. I've never called or heard anyone else call any person that word. Your dissertation went off in several directions, but that one led to the twilight zone.

@ Darnell

You missed this part.


(No information exists on the impact of ventilation rate on transmission of droplet-transmitted diseases.)


COVID-19 is transmitted by droplet..you could not have possibly read the whole article

Thank God only a small group is listening to the complaining people or should I say the people who will go down in history to have no empathy nor campassion towards the homeless

Further, and more pointedly, hoping to not sound overly optimistic or perhaps pessimistic, I don't think (and this is only an opinion) that this virus fiasco will really reach some type of wild "peak" that has been projected but that the virus epidemic will malinger for quite a while. I base this belief on a couple of factors.


I Follow Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

In fact Right now there are 3,128 Confirmed cases in connecticut and 69 deaths and those Numbers will go up as the weather get's warm.

Coronavirus map of the US: latest cases state by state

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/apr/01/coronavirus-map-of-the-us-latest-cases-state-by-state

And no mayor is in charge.They have to take there orders form Ned Lamont who is now in charge.What if Ned Lamont says use those school Buildings to house the Army National Guard then what.

@darnell
Thank you, Mr. Conway for your INITIAL vote in support of the Mayor's plan to use Career for homeless persons. Many residents believe it was the right vote. We are disappointed that you changed your mind, your prerogative, but are relieved that your vote can't be changed. Please be mindful that your new position is not representative of ALL people of color.
Thanks, Mr. Goldson for posting your full resolution. Because I had not seen the whole text, I erred in stating that it did not call for consideration of another location.
When I wrote that you said "I want the public to know what my position is," I got this quote from a March 23rd NHI article on the BOE. If this quote is correct, my statement was not a "lie" as you allege.
By rejecting your resolution 5-2, the BOE made clear its choice to support the Mayor's decision to use Career. Your resolution was YOUR proposal, not the Board's. No one member speaks for the BOE as a whole.
The BOE vote was 5-2. That's only 28% support for your resolution, not 43% as you claimed. 71% of the BOE voted AGAINST. You know that the student vote carries no official weight!
It is not unprecedented for BOE members to be pressured to vote certain ways. That is how we wound up with Dr. Birks as superintendent, despite strong public opposition. At least one former BOE member publicly admitted that fact after he resigned from the BOE!
Some believe we don't know enough about COVID-19. There has been a tremendous amount of research done by medical experts. We should seriously consider their findings instead of the speculation & misinformation being circulated which is the basis for some opposition to Career.
See medical sources like cdc.gov & webmd.com for reliable, factual information about how long this virus lives on surfaces.
People have rights to their opinions, but not to their own facts. When facts refute opinions, go with the facts!
It is sad to hear Goldson crassly refer to the Career shelter as a "death trap."

In just 24 hours, this really got off the tracks. Obviously there are two distinct positions on this. One issue I have is BFLY saying to stop using the word "brown" people. Why? There are many Hispanics, and some Indian, Arab and Filipino Americans that live and work in the neighborhoods around the high school. In fact, they make up about 20% of the City's population.

TAPaine -- I find this quote from BOE member Conaway to be compelling:

"I wholeheartedly agree with a growing number of black and brown New Haven residents who have articulated concerns about the already high number of treatment facilities in their neighborhood (and in the Hill in particular). Equally important, as a parent of three New Haven Public School alumnae, I am worried about the safety of the building once students return to it; and students will be returning to that building at some point."

Anyone who knows Mr. Conaway would have a difficult time questioning his motives or his integrity. And throwing out the insinuation that he must have been improperly "pressured" into changing his vote ignores the obvious fact that all political officials are "pressured" to support a million proposed courses of action lies within the very scope of their job. The election is over. Let's get real about handling the difficult issues of governance.

Mr. Conaway never offered his opinion as a "representative of ALL people of color." We all know that would be ludicrous. I understand his position to be that of a cautionary, thoughtful approach to a troubling (socially divisive) situation with literal life or death consequences. For sure there will be scores of black and brown persons who share your Mayor Elicker knows best viewpoint. But you won't find many who live within the shadow of the proposed quarantine facility and who are being forced to surrender their health and safety to a rushed, hastily concocted decision put together by the Mayor and his advisers, none of whom live within the danger zone or have kids who will be affected by any error in calculation.

This is a novel life or death situation and the only thing experts agree on is the fact that they just don't know. Other options are coming on line (e.g. using hotels, SCSU, tents). These alternatives were not considered by Mayor Elicker before.

@missthenighthawks

IMO, it a racial ethic term that is used in a metaphoric way to apply a skin color as a person's race. Just like when the term "people of color" is used, in which could be anyone and not applicable just to African American race. When speaking of a group, its just more appropriate to call an African American, black.