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Placer County school officials are speaking up. Unfortunately, it’s not for their students

Placer County’s top education officials may as well admit their irrational hostility to public health precautions that protect their students. Superintendents throughout the county nearly acknowledged as much by signing onto a letter professing unfounded concerns about life-saving vaccines.

In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, Placer County Superintendent of Schools Gayle Garbolino-Mojica joined 15 of the county’s district superintendents in questioning the state’s proposed vaccine mandate for California students along with a continuing classroom masking mandate.

Specifically, the letter asked that the state “maintain medical and personal belief exemptions regarding the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for K-12 students.” The letter also asked the governor to identify the “benchmarks” that must be met to end school masking, stating that COVID safety guidelines should be left up to the counties. And given staffing shortages, Placer officials asked that the state continue to offer COVID testing options for staff in place of mandatory vaccinations “for the foreseeable future.”

Opinion

Garbolino-Mojica and the co-signatories, who are responsible for about 75,000 students and 15,000 employees, claim they are speaking on behalf of concerned families, some of whom have voiced plans to withdraw their children from Placer’s public schools in light of the student vaccination mandate.

“In listening to our communities, we anticipate the implementation of a vaccination mandate without exemptions for medical and personal beliefs will deeply impact schools,” the letter states. “Families will choose to leave traditional in-person classroom instruction, which provides the best opportunities for academic and social-emotional outcomes for independent study programs or other alternatives to classroom-based instruction.”

No doubt school officials are feeling pressure from angry, vocal parents to speak out against vaccine mandates. Some parents and community members have even gone so far as to threaten district leaders over masking and vaccination requirements.

On Oct. 1, Newsom announced plans to add the COVID vaccine to the list of vaccinations required to attend K-12 schools, effective once the FDA issues full authorization for those ages 5 to 17. In October, Newsom also announced that all public and private school employees must be fully vaccinated by next July to be on campus and can no longer be tested for COVID as an alternative to the vaccine.

But a vocal minority of parents and potential enrollment losses don’t fully account for the motives of Placer County’s superintendents, administrators and school board members, many of whom seem to harbor long-standing personal beliefs hostile to vaccines and masks.

Since the start of the pandemic, the county’s education officials have repeatedly resisted COVID guidance at the county and state level, siding with parents who are against masking and vaccinations and ignoring the majority of parents who want their kids to be safe at school. Despite vocal opposition to masking and vaccination requirements at Placer County public meetings, the majority of residents — just under 60% — are vaccinated.

Last December, the Roseville Joint Union High School District’s school board voted unanimously to bring students back to fully in-person instruction starting Jan. 1 despite opposition from staff. Just a few weeks later, hundreds of students throughout the district were forced to quarantine after being exposed to COVID on campus.

The very next month, in February, district school board members voted to allow schools to remain fully open for in-person instruction despite the fact that three of its six schools failed to meet the state’s 4-foot distancing guidelines.

Placer officials may live in an echo chamber where anti-mask and anti-vax beliefs are affirmed by like-minded parents, colleagues and community members. Outside the county, however, many recognize that the state’s mandates don’t go far enough.

COVID cases among children have risen 32% nationwide compared with two weeks ago, according to a recent New York Times report. Between Nov. 11 and Nov. 18, over 140,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus — numbers likely to increase with imminent holiday gatherings. Right now in Placer County, 704 children under the age of 5 have COVID, and 5,251 COVID cases are among children ages 5 to 17.

Children are at lower risk from COVID than older people, but they can still be sickened by and spread the virus. Despite unfounded hypotheses about the long-term effects of COVID vaccines, the clear long-term risk comes from contracting COVID without the protection of a vaccine.

A strong vaccine mandate will save lives. Placer County school officials should be looking out for the well-being of the children in their care instead of looking to use them as political pawns.