Written by Bobbie Wylie
Last week, Andrew Hayes, Governing Board Member and Vice-President of the Lakeside Union School District, wrote a letter to Governor Newsom urging him to end California’s State of Emergency Declaration regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hayes wrote that Governor Newsom’s extension of California’s State of Emergency Declaration has created many challenges “as a result of the lack of local control granted to school districts” by the state.
In an interview with KUSI, Hayes stated that we need to “give back local governing authority” to local school districts. Hayes emphasized a need for local control based on local conditions in regard to mask mandates and vaccine requirements in schools. School districts should be in control of COVID-19 restrictions and requirements, and parents should be allowed to decide what medical decisions are best for their children – without involvement from the state legislature.
Hayes says that he and the Lakeside Union School District aim to advocate for “all students,” emphasizing that blanket mandates from the state legislature do not take into account the specific needs of local districts.
While Hayes and the Lakeside Union School District await a response from Governor Newsom, Hayes says they will be writing a resolution to encourage the governor to reform his prior vaccine requirement for all K-12 students to give greater authority to local school districts to make those decisions.
Photo Cred: FOX 5 San Diego
