Josh Miller

Josh and Sarah Miller are two of the parents behind an online petition asking Great Hearts Academies to delay its school reopenings.

A small group of parents are asking Great Heart Academies administrators to delay the reopening of their Phoenix area charter schools scheduled to take place over the next two weeks. Great Hearts governing board voted to reopen schools last week before Maricopa County had met the three recommended public health metrics. 

The county is close to meeting them, according to data available Friday. After the vote, the parents started an online petition, which has collected about 2,700 signatures so far. 

“Having a meeting and making that decision before you’ve even reached that point, I think, is disrespectful to teachers," said Josh Miller, one of the parents behind the petition. 

Great Hearts Academies is reopening schools with protective practices such as a COVID testing program for faculty and families plus remote instruction accommodations for teachers who are especially vulnerable, it said in a statement to KJZZ. 

Miller isn't confident that their petition will sway administrators, but he hopes it'll at least counteract the negative comments that teachers have received from parents who support school reopenings. 

“I don’t want teachers to quit over this," Miller said. "I understand why some could feel like it’s their only choice but it’s not good for our students and our schools to lose good teachers.”