Over 14,000 sign petition calling for governor to close schools unless safety recommendations are met screen shot of Facebook event page The lead photo of a Facebook page organizing a ‘Car Caravan for a Safe and Fully-Funded Back to School’ at the state Capitol during the summer. Leaders from the state’s largest education unions gathered outside the state Capitol on Thursday to call on Gov. Ned Lamont to close schools until mid-January unless the recommended safety precautions they’ve laid out are met. They delivered a petition, which was assigned by more than 14,000 Connecticut educators, school employees and community members. It called for the implementation of statewide safety mandates included in their “Safe and Successful Schools Now” report and transparency from the state in the way it reports and responds to positive COVID-19 cases in schools.