FUHSD decides not to send letter about mandates

Rick Monroe

Special to the Village News

The hopes of parents wanting to see trustees of the Fallbrook Union High School District support their concerns about COVID-19 mandates were dashed at the Feb. 7 board meeting. At the district’s prior board meeting on Jan. 24, Diane Summers, vice president, suggested the board consider writing a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom about the concerns of parents. She also said she wanted legal advice from an attorney.

There is a mandate that all students and staff wear masks while on campus. Many parents say that’s not healthy. There is no mandate now about the vaccine, though the governor has outlined plans to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of vaccinations required to attend school in-person when the vaccine receives full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for middle and high school grades. Pending state legislation, Senate Bill 871, would add COVID-19 to the list of required inoculations for attending K-12 schools. There would be minimal exceptions allowed, making it stricter than Newsom’s plans.

At the Feb. 7 meeting, attorney, Daniel R. Shinoff called the mandates a “tremendously polarizing” issue and reviewed legal considerations. He told trustees that when they took the oath when they were sworn into office, they promised to follow the state Constitution. Shinoff said that would include executive orders from the governor and laws from the state Department of Health. Not following the mandates could result in the district losing its insurance, individual trustees being personally liable, and he painted a dangerous picture for board members should they veer from their duties.

“If you choose to disregard the law, you have individual liability,” the attorney said. “That is a frightening concept simply because you become the insurance agency with any claim against the district.” He also said Cal-OSHA could close schools if they don’t properly protect the safety of employees. Trustees could also face misdemeanor fines of $1,000 or 6 months in jail or both, he added.

“I’m trying to make sure you understand the lane in which you are restricted,” the attorney explained.

Board president Eddie Jones questioned Shinoff about what the options were for the district. “Are you saying there is no choice but to follow the mandates?” Jones asked. “You have no choice but to follow the law,” the attorney replied.

Later, Jones responded, “I’m not in favor of sending a letter” and there was no further discussion. Shinoff’s presentation was on the agenda information item and no action was necessary.

There was some drama when Lindsay Jones, co-founder of Fallbrook Freedom Fighters, spoke up from the audience towards the end of the attorney’s presentation. Eddie Jones (no relation) asked her several times to not interrupt the meeting and explained that the time for public comment was earlier in the meeting.

The board president called for a 10-minute recess, which turned into a 15-minute break, and the staff and board members – except trustee Oscar Caralampio – retreated to their closed-door area. Caralampio went into the audience to help bring peace and understanding to Jones and her supporters.

As the meeting resumed, Lindsay Jones apologized to the board for her outburst. Contacted later in the week, Jones said she was wrong to disrupt the meeting. “I was just trying to say the board wasn’t taking the middle ground because mandates are required now and it’s really difficult for the children,” she explained.

Jones wasn’t the only parent attending the meeting who later shared their criticism:

Sherry Weishaar questioned why Shinoff was the attorney giving the presentation. She said he represents the district’s insurance carrier. “It was extremely biased,” she said, “and seemed more like a ploy by the board. I don’t think they had any intention of sending a letter and the presentation was very condescending. Do they think we’re that stupid?” She added that the anti-mandate parents are looking to replace the three board members up for re-election in November – Summers, Lita Tabish and Elana Sterling.

Judy Willis said she thought the threat of schools being closed was ridiculous. “Has it happened to the many districts that have written a letter or resolution? No way,” she said.

Tara Jenkins said she is working on bringing a group of legal experts to speak to school boards in Bonsall and the two in Fallbrook about the mandates. Shinoff also made a presentation to the Bonsall board. “We need to free our children and people everywhere of the mandates,” Jenkins said.

After numerous attempts to interview Shinoff by phone, a representative from his office in San Diego said that he was sick and would likely be off for more than a week.

In other business at the Feb. 7 meeting:

Redistricting

Trustees approved redistricting of the five geographic areas at the meeting after several meetings and public hearings. The redistricting is to keep districts the same size, based on the U.S. Census, and is done every 10 years.

The demographer, a consultant, gave a report noting that the final scenarios for the board to consider were each acceptable choices for compliance, including maintaining a majority minority in the downtown Area 4.

There was some question about why the area boundaries could not match the elementary school boundaries. Superintendent Ilsa Garza-Gonzalez explained that the high school district includes not only the Fallbrook Elementary School District but also the Vallecitos School District in the Rainbow area. The additional area means more voters, so the two Fallbrook districts could not be a match – but they are still similar.

The trustees voted unanimously to select Scenario 2.

Public Comments:

There were two written comments concerning redistricting. Each urged the board to reject Scenario 2A and said they preferred Scenario 3A. Leticia Maldonado-Stamos also spoke in person with similar comments.

Richard Wilson spoke about the solar panels being considered, questioning if foul balls landing on the panels from the baseball field could be a concern. He also said the head football coach’s resignation was because he wasn’t supported to stay with the board’s position on employee vaccination mandates.

Weishaar asked the district to improve the outreach of college counseling.

Leslie Jones repeated the message that students should not be subject to mask or COVID-19 mandates. “Please, be an advocate for our kids,” she said.

Solar Panels:

The board unanimously approved the location and production for solar panels designed by Baker Electric. The North County company revised its design so that it would not infringe on the agricultural department’s land use. The representative from Baker will return to the Feb. 28 meeting for final approval.

Audit, Bond Report & Sales

The board approved an audit report for the fiscal year 2020-2021 and a bond audit report for the same year as presented. It then approved a resolution authorizing the district's issuance and sale of general obligation bonds not to exceed $24 million from the 2016 voter-approved bond measure. The funds will be used to modernize the campus at Fallbrook High School.

Superintendent’s report:

The district held a virtual open house for parents of incoming 9th graders.

Open enrollment begins April 28.

LCAP testing begins Monday, Feb. 21.