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Previously:

• Del Norte Unified to End Mask Enforcement in Classrooms Starting Monday

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Following California Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement Monday that he would relax indoor mask requirements in school settings starting March 11, the local school board decided that modifying its own mandates for staff would be a moot point.

Del Norte Unified School District trustees on Monday voted unanimously to hold its teaching and classified staff harmless for obeying new directives against excluding students from the classroom if they refuse to wear a mask — a decision that could be determined in court to have gone against current California Department of Public Health guidance.

DNUSD trustees also ratified a memorandum of understanding with the Del Norte Teachers Association promising to provide a defense should a teacher’s credential be at risk in civil or criminal law for following new directives on student masking. This promise also extends to Del Norte County Office of Education staff, Superintendent of Schools Jeff Harris told trustees.

“As I stated earlier, the board’s decision on Thursday has the potential in a court of law to be determined that it may not have been in compliance with CDPH guidance,” Harris said. “It’s not clear. It’s not defined. It would have to go to court to be decided. However, in the event that it is decided that the Board’s actions are not in alignment with CDPH, people’s liabilities and defense of credentials, if necessary, all of these things are of great importance to us, to them, and to you as a Board.”

The Board’s discussion on Monday comes after parents, community members and a handful of students called upon trustees Thursday to make mask-wearing optional for students, stating that it was harmful to their education and their health.

After roughly four hours of public comment, DNUSD trustees voted 3-2 in favor of taking an “education-based approach” for students who refuse to wear a face covering.

Under the district’s new directive, schools are required to post CDPH guidance regarding masking in the classroom and told it staff to urge students to wear a face covering, offering them a mask if they’re without. If the student continues to refuse, the school’s principal would send a letter home to parents notifying them that their child refused to wear a mask.

On Thursday, DNUSD trustees held off on changing masking requirements for staff, preferring to wait on any updates from the state.

On Monday, Newsom announced that statewide indoor mask requirements for unvaccinated individuals will end at 11:59 p.m. Instead, face coverings will be “strongly recommended” for people regardless of their vaccination status.

California is set to end its universal masking requirements in K12 and childcare settings at 11:59 p.m. March 11. State health officials will continue to strongly recommend masks be worn in schools and promote masks and testing for children after the mandates are relaxed.

Harris said he believed that starting March 14, mask mandates for students and staff, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, will be lifted.

“The question is do you need to take any action or are you interested in having any more discussion about altering mask mandates for staff at this point in time?” Harris said. “Both bargaining units agreed to abide by CDPH guidelines.”

Trustees were unanimous in agreeing to wait for the state’s indoor mask mandates for schools to sunset in “nine working days.”

“It would take longer than that to negotiate something. I think we just need to let it ride,” said Trustee Area 4 representative Charlaine Mazzei, who along with Board President Don McArthur voted against DNUSD’s “education-based approach” to student masking on Thursday. “We’ve put ourselves on a bit of a thin limb as it is and I think we just need to let the staff go along with the way things are and everything will be different on the 14th or the 15th.”

For some parents, however, letting “it ride,” wasn’t good enough. Billie Kaye Gavin Tygart, a local business owner, called Newsom’s promise to end universal masking in schools ludicrous.

“You should all know better,” Gavin Tygart told trustees. “There are staff who still do not feel represented. I cannot tell you how many email messages and text messages I got Thursday. They’re so glad. They didn’t even know there was going to be somebody standing up for them.”

According to Gavin Tygart, feedback from students on their first day of not being required to sit inside with a mask was positive.
“I want to thank you all for being brave enough to let our children breathe freely,” she said.

DNTA lead negotiator Paige Thompson pointed out that CDPH still requires masking indoors at public schools. Even though DNUSD negotiators agreed to meet with the teachers union over the weekend, DNTA representatives haven't had a chance to poll its members about whether staff should continue to wear masks or not, Thompson. The union will likely poll its members later this week about face coverings, she said.

Thompson also reiterated Harris’s statements about teaching credentials being at risk because of the district’s new directive.

“I hear people saying that piece of paper is a waste,” Thompson said referring to the letter sent home if students refuse to wear a mask. “That little piece of paper helps to protect teachers for not enforcing current CDPH mandates. It’s people’s credentials. It’s people’s finances. It’s the district’s finances. It’s a really big picture with a lot of really monumental pieces.”

Documents:

• DNUSD Indemnification of Staff

• DNUSD, DNTA Memorandum of Understanding

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