New Rochelle teacher's family demands answers from school district after she died of COVID-19

The family says they are trying to get closure, and in order to do that, they need to find out how exactly Karen Johnson contracted and died of COVID-19.

News 12 Staff

Mar 18, 2021, 2:14 AM

Updated 1,356 days ago

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A New Rochelle family is demanding answers from the school district after a wife and mother who was a longtime teacher died of COVID-19 in February.
The family says they are trying to get closure, and in order to do that, they need to find out how exactly Karen Johnson contracted and died of COVID-19.
According to the family's legal counsel, they're asking the school district what protections they gave her.
Johnson, who was a special-needs teacher at Albert Leonard Middle School, had asthma and was overweight and was afraid to come to work.
The family's attorney, Richard St. Paul, tells News 12 her request to continue teaching remotely was denied by the district - with the understanding that she would be given personal protection equipment but it's possible the district's promises weren't kept.
St. Paul says her family remembers Johnson coming home from work, complaining about not having the protection they guaranteed her.
They also don't know if her special-needs students wore masks. Depending on a child's disability, they may not be capable of wearing masks.
St. Paul tells News 12 that Johnson went to work, despite not feeling safe, because her family needed the money.
The school district says it cannot comment on potential or pending litigation.
St. Paul says the Johnson family wants closure and that they will have to take legal action if they are not given the information they're requesting.