TUSD superintendent appeals to governor, closes Tehachapi schools through Monday
Citing public health and safety related to the continued difficulty of enforcing the state’s school mask mandate, the superintendent of Tehachapi Unified School District on Thursday evening took action to close schools in the district through at least Feb. 28.
Stacey Larson-Everson also shared a letter she sent earlier in the day to Gov. Gavin Newsom, urging him to immediately provide parents with a choice regarding masking their own children.
Two nights earlier the board of trustees of the district heard from about 36 members of the public — mostly parents asking the board to end mandatory mask requirements.
There has been no school in Tehachapi this week due to weather and Presidents Day, and the previous Friday was also a planned day off. But for three days that week, beginning Feb. 15, some 80 or more students at Tehachapi High School refused to wear masks and most parents did not respond to calls from the school to pick them up. Students not wearing masks were isolated from other students and parents staged protests with signs and flags in front of the school.
Parents vowed to continue the protest this week but were stymied by a snowstorm.
Larson-Everson and school board President Nancy Weinstein on Tuesday night noted that Newsom is expected to issue new guidance for schools on Feb. 28. The district has held firm to a policy of following state guidance intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“I strongly urge you to revise the current K-12 student universal indoor mask requirement for schools,” Larson-Everson said in her letter to the governor. “Instead, parental choice regarding indoor masking in school should be implemented immediately.”
She noted that over the past several weeks the district has experienced a significant drop in cases of COVID-19 among staff and students.
“Our attendance for both staff and students has greatly increased and we are experiencing very nearly traditional daily attendance averages for both groups,” she said. “These changes in COVID-19 cases for our district reflect and validate the improvements we have seen across our great state in the areas of hospitalizations, case rates and deaths due to COVID-19.”
She asked the governor to immediately provide a pathway for parents to make a personal choice regarding facial masks in indoor school settings, based on what parents feel will best meet the needs of their children.
“I respectfully request that you immediately eliminate mask requirements for students and that you provide parents with choice, regardless of the vaccination status of their children,” she concluded in her letter to the governor.
In a letter to parents posted on the district’s website, Larson-Everson said she remains hopeful that the governor will respond with measures to immediately provide for parental choice.
But at least until Tuesday, March 1, district schools will remain closed.
“Over the course of the past few weeks district teachers, staff and administration have been stretched thin in attempts to maintain a safe learning environment for all students and staff,” she said. “These efforts are not sustainable...”
She said the decision to close schools was made in consultation with Kern County Public Health and following engagement with public safety officials.
Circumstances will be reassessed on Feb. 28 following the anticipated announcement of changes by the California Department of Public Health related to the school mask mandate, Larson-Everson said.