On the same day Gov. Jay Inslee announced he was bringing back a statewide masking mandate and requiring all adults working in K-12 schools to be vaccinated due to the worsening situation with COVID-19, Onalaska parents pleaded for their school board to pass a mask-optional policy locally and to go against state health mandates this fall.
The Onalaska School Board held a special meeting Wednesday night to hear what the public thought of the proposed policy. It received widespread approval from parents, many of whom said they were willing to risk the defunding of their school district to the tune of about $11.45 million this next school year in order to go against what they see as an infringement of their rights.
That $11.45 million is made up of state allocation, federal apportionment and state special purpose dollars — all of which could be in jeopardy, according to district officials. That money also makes up almost all of the district’s $13.3 million budget for this next school year.
The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has warned public school districts in the state they could face penalties, including withholding state money, for not following health guidelines as mandated in the K-12 COVID-19 Requirements for Summer 2021 and the 2021-2022 School Year document drafted by the state Department of Health.
The guide says all students and staff in public schools must continue to wear face masks for the upcoming school year, regardless of vaccination status. Masks may be removed in certain circumstances, such as when students or staff are outside or when they are eating.
The public is also grappling with news released earlier that says that all public teachers or staff members would be required to be fully vaccinated or have exemptions filed by Oct. 18. A general mask mandate for indoor public spaces, due to go into effect statewide Monday, was also announced.
Dozens of people spoke at length during the workshop meeting in Onalaska, most lambasting the use of masks in schools, vaccines and critical race theory while threatening to pull their kids in droves from the school district if it complies with the state.
The mask-optional policy is getting the thumbs down from the teachers’ union representing the district, though.
One of the board members of the Onalaska Education Association, elementary teacher Amy Thayer, said she is concerned with any decision that could threaten their ability to educate. She detailed the potentially dire repercussions.
“There are 880 students that will be impacted. Students will lose access to not only their education and school services, but access to their friends, a safe place to be seven hours a day and access to free and reduced lunch. Students will no longer be able to participate in school sports and extracurricular activities, something that’s important to so many of our students,” Thayer said.
“When the district runs out of funds, families will be in a scramble to find a safe place for their children during work hours … Most teachers, when asked, will simply state that they just want to teach. But, in order to do that, and to be effective educators, we need resources and we need a peace of mind that comes with knowing we’ll be able to pay our bills and care for our families,” she added.
Thayer said the 200 teachers and district employees would be barred from accessing state unemployment benefits if their district were to be defunded or shut down.
The number of cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are currently surging in Washington state, with many hospitals reporting they’re being overwhelmed.
Lewis County, in particular, has one of the highest transmission rates in the state, having reported a rate of 846 new cases per 100,000 people over the last 14 days — the highest it’s ever been during the pandemic.
For a second consecutive week, the county also reported record case loads, and the county’s hospitalization rate is now more than three times the state’s average.
Despite a surging pandemic that’s dragged into a 19th month, Onalaska parents and community members say they’re frustrated with the direction the state has taken on masks and vaccines, and are exhausted.
“I cannot count the number of hours of math education which were lost this year as I was forced to stop teaching math and talk about masks,” said Kalle Jorgensen, a five-year high school mathematics instructor at Onalaska High School.
Jorgensen said it doesn’t make sense to mandate another year of masks and notes it goes against the social-emotional learning they’ve been trying to implement in recent years. He is in support of the mask-optional policy, and noted if parents and students aren’t comfortable with it they should just shift back to remote learning.
Jennifer Hamilton, the recently-hired head Onalaska volleyball coach, said her first season at the helm was mired with students undergoing social and emotional stress due to masks. She said taking over the position was more than advertised and that students have been “traumatized.”
“I had more girls in my office bawling through that volleyball season,” she said. “I’d go home after games crying because it was more than just losing our games, which we did. To see teenagers that you love go through that, I don’t know how people can do that — and it was the masks.”
She said it has taken a huge toll on her, too, and notes she’s been punished by the athletic director for not supervising her athletes closely enough on masking.
Amy Legg, a 1995 Onalaska graduate, said even though the community may disagree, it’s time to take a stand. She said she’s willing to lose her job over this, and encouraged people to pull their kids out of the district.
“I’ve homeschooled before. I know it’s not an easy job, and I’m not trying to make it out as if it is. I’m saying that this is the last leverage we have to stop this. It’s the last chance,” she said to a crowd of about 100 people, noting she won’t send her children to school with masks this year.
Cathy Murphy, a 37-year teacher of the school district, said she is “deeply concerned” about the possibility of the district’s funding being cut. She works as a reading specialist at the district in the state-funded Learning Assistance Program (LAP), which provides supplemental instruction to students who are not meeting academic standards.
Last year, the program served over 70 students with crucial reading and writing skills that will “affect the rest of their life and their academic success.” They would be directly affected by the state withholding Onalaska’s state allocation.
“Every day, every week we withhold reading instruction from students, that’s a day that we can’t help them improve. That’s a day they’re still behind their peers,” she said, characterizing this decision as a “real risk.”
After hearing nearly two hours of public comment, the school board had only a few words for the unsettled crowd. School board members said they’ve tried to get more answers as to the repercussions of going mask-optional this school year, but feel they haven’t been given clear instructions as to if their funding would be cut or not.
“We all have passion, whether it be for, against; whether you’re ready to forfeit your job, whether you’re not; we’re all on different pages which makes it very difficult,” said board member Heidi Howard, noting the board is considering all options as it make a decision.
Board member Gabe Hamilton said he’s not sure where the board will land on this issue, especially with school starting Aug. 31.
“I think we’re really torn. I really don’t know,” he told The Chronicle. He also described it as a “lose-lose” situation.
The board will meet again on Monday, Aug. 23, for a regular meeting. The mask-optional policy is on the agenda, though no action is listed, Hamilton said.
Onalaska School Board Chair Mary Glenn has been the leading voice against a mask-optional policy, and she might be in the minority on the board. Her highest priority is getting students in the classroom to have a quality education and ensuring the school district isn’t defunded.
But the school board is stuck between a “rock and a hard place,” she said.
In addition to possible defunding, the school district also risks its insurance coverage if it implements a mask-optional policy.
Glenn also said the benefits of going mask-optional don’t outweigh the costs. All of the district’s payroll and benefits are covered by state apportionment.
“Eighty-six percent of the money we get from the state goes to payroll and benefits,” she said.
Even levy dollars, a large chunk of which pays for high school sports and education needs, wouldn’t be able to make up the difference to cover staff and teacher’s payroll.
“I care so deeply about this school. It has made huge strides,” Glenn said, even during the pandemic. She also noted that most of their classes covered 85% of their curriculum last year, which was a big milestone.
Building a Beachhead
The sun was just setting over Carlisle Lake when parents gathered in the parking lot with their phones out and fliers in hand after the board meeting. As they spoke, children played nearby.
About 60 or so parents and community members met at Carlisle Lake Park following the emotion-packed Onalaska School Board meeting. The plan was to plot a grassroots strategy to fight back against the state mask and vaccine mandates, which included encouraging parents to remove their students from the school district and devise action committees.
School board members Heidi Howard and Tanya Naillon serve on two of the four ad-hoc citizen committees, according to a handout. One of the committees was to elect Steve Legg this November. He’s challenging Glenn for her seat. Another committee was to network with other school districts to “get them to rise with us.” Another was to attend county government meetings and another was tasked with creating other school options, such as a homeschool cooperative.
A majority of the school board attended the non-district affiliated meeting.
Heidi St. John, a congressional candidate running for Washington’s 3rd District next year and a staunch homeschooling advocate, answered questions from parents on how to remove their children from the Onalaska School District.
“We’ve got to stand up and you guys, I’m going to encourage you. You could build a beachhead right here in Onalaska and the shot would be heard around the nation. People are going to be watching what’s going on here this week because the nation is on fire,” she said.
St. John, a mother of seven who homeschooled in lieu of public education, said the public school districts “speak in money” and parents could make a statement by withdrawing their children. She also said homeschooling a first-grader should only take an hour a day and three hours a day for high schoolers.
She said homeschooling is a “free ticket to ride,” since colleges are looking for those types of kids.
“Parents are losing their kids because of the indoctrination in our schools,” St. John said.
Howard, who spoke after St. John, said they have to rally the state.
“And it can’t just be four or five board members and a superintendent, or however it adds up, it needs to be our board and our entire community. And we can’t let up,” she said.
