ANAHEIM (KNX 1070) -- Nearly 15,000 kids at 23 schools in the Anaheim Elementary School District returned to classrooms Thursday.
Superintendent Christopher Downing was at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary to greet students. He told KNX that schools prepared for students’ return by enacting extensive COVID-19 safety protocols.
“In preparation for the start of the school year, every school has conducted ‘grab and go’ where families were able to come up to the campus and pick up five disposable masks as well as five cloth masks for every student, hand sanitizer and other safety items,” said Downing.
He pointed out there have been no COVID-19 outbreaks linked to Anaheim elementary schools since the district resumed hybrid classes in April.
Despite the lack of outbreaks in Anaheim schools, the highly contagious Delta variant has caused Los Angeles County and surrounding areas to see another surge of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Downing added, unlike in other parts of Orange County, there has been little pushback from parents over kids having to wear masks.
“Parents have expressed support for us requiring masks for all staff and students indoors. When we reopened in April with the hybrid model, we had all of our students complying," he said.
"They are now used to wearing a mask.”
The county’s Board of Education, however, said it will sue the state over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate that staff and students wear masks regardless of vaccination status. The board claimed the governor exceeded his authority with the “unwarranted” mandate. The board does not actually oversee any school districts in Orange County. Instead, it has five "lay members who represent the five trustee areas of the county."
To combat the spread of Delta in schools, Newsom announced Wednesday that all, public and private, California school staff will be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or be tested at least once a week.
The move was not without its critics, especially among the Orange County Board of Education. Board President Mari Barke said the new mandate only reaffirmed the board’s decision to sue the state over mask-wearing.
"For the governor to decide what people should do...I'm not in favor," Barke said. "I think it is extreme government overreach for them to be mandating [vaccinations]."
Anaheim parents have not expressed the same outrage. According to Downing, families appear happy to follow the safety protocols and put their children back into classrooms. He said only two percent of parents opted for remote learning for their kids.
Also getting back to full classes today in the O.C. is the Tustin Unified School District.
