Feb 21, 2022
Trustee Bruce Shepherd appointed by the Board to replace Keszei.
Parental concerns over mask mandates, calling mask requirements “child abuse.”
A community member talked about a student taking off her mask in history class and then was asked by the CHS Principal to leave. And asked board to pass mask-choice resolution.
CUSD teacher spoke to need for smaller class sizes to improve academics and SEL….”struggling to increase academic achievement” based on large class sizes.
A community member spoke to the Brown Act, Government code 54954.2(a)(2) informing Trustees they are allowed to communicate with speakers. Community members should state, “I would like concerns placed on agenda for discussion.”
A community member reminded the Board about Tortilla gate apology, CRT in classroom, declining academic standards. Do not cite the Brown Act to intimidate and shutdown community conversation. Please explain why you did not fight harder to Appeal CIF. What are you doing to ensure CT principles are not entering classrooms? Open discussions and decisions explained.
A parent shared that her 6 year wished, “Never to wear a mask again.” She also reported that her kid’s silver microbacterial masks were illegal. Kids were made to do a funrun with a mask on at Village Elementary. No oversight by Principal Bergener.
A parent shared that her daughter is standing up for her educational rights, sat on campus for 13 days while being ignored. Stand up for our children and stop madness now.
Ryan Ethan, attorney, President of Gavel Project, spoke about Ed Code 201 and claimed CHS suspended her for clear and present danger. You are exposed to liability (applause from audience), you are abusing children. You cannot remove her from campus because it would be assault and battery…it is child abuse. Respect the child’s rights. I am unvaccinated and I am not wearing a mask! (standing ovation)
An older community member and allegedly known provocateur reportedly argued with lawyer and police were called to remove him.
EVC pushed wearing of mask for unvacinnated.
Another community member told Trustees that you are breaking15 laws, 8 federal and 7 state laws making kids wearing masks. School admin cannot remove kids from school, it is illegal.
Masks optional unless unvaccinated per state mandate, if you don’t abide you open the district up to liability (EVC).
Superintendent Karl Mueller suggested community forum with regards to the district constraints on masking.
“There is a lot of misinformation in regards to what we do and do not have autonomy over as it relates to mandates and guidelines, but there are also some very legitimate items for us to consider,” said Mueller. “When we went into the pandemic we negotiated with our entire staff on what would it take to bring them back into the workplace, and adherence and compliance with County of Public Health guidelines is one of those non-negotiables.”
He said that if a child removes their mask the class could not continue, as it would be in violation of the district’s collective bargaining agreement with the district labor groups. Valdes-Clayton echoed this statement later in the meeting.
“We entered into an agreement with the teachers, and we said we would adhere to the state guidelines,” said Valdes-Clayton. “That was what we sold them on; that is why our schools were open before anybody else in the county.”
Mueller said another factor was the district’s requirements to Cal-OSHA and the liability faced as a school district.
“We have local cases against us through Cal-OSHA for staff members who have fallen ill and passed away from COVID. This is something that is part of our reality that isn’t a part of the impassioned dialogue,” said Mueller.
In regards to the 4×4 bell schedule, Mellina noted that the new setup allowed students to remediate within the same year, as well as make up for lost credits. Students were recently surveyed about the benefits of the 4×4, which includes fewer classes and more flexibility, as well as the drawbacks, which are the schedule’s fast pace and impact of absences.
Principal Mellina said that the students were outperforming benchmarks and national averages on standardized tests. When it comes to A.P. scores, Mellina did note a decline and attributed it to COVID learning, but she also shared that the D and F list is down from the last regular in-person school year, which was 2018-2019. Mellina’s Academic Report link.
“While the courses are fast-paced, I think it’s important to note that in the past, students were taking five to six academic classes per term, whereas now they are taking two to three academic classes each term,” said Dineen. “So in the past, students were spread thin in a bunch of different subjects, now they are able to master the classes more.” excerpts from Van Tuyl article.
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