Fresno County school district won’t discipline employees who refuse COVID-19 test
School board members in a Fresno County foothill community went against a group of parents and employees Monday who asked them to disobey COVID-19 health mandates.
Sierra Unified trustees voted 4-3 to follow health directives from the California Department of Public Health. Those include mask-wearing for everyone on campus and either proof of vaccine or testing from employees.
In August, the state ordered all K-12 employees to either show proof of vaccination or test at least once a week beginning Oct. 15.
The board also voted unanimously to suspend disciplinary action for employees who don’t want to take a COVID test until a “non-invasive” method is available to the district, such as saliva testing. It wasn’t immediately clear when that might happen.
Sierra Unified operates Foothill Elementary, Sierra Junior High, and Sierra High School in the communities of Auberry and Tollhouse.
Some employees found the test painful and suspicious, they said.
Maria Vega, who said she was a school employee, took her first COVID test Monday and complained of pain in her nose.
“I’ve been wearing my mask. I’ve been trying to be compliant. I’ve been trying to keep the kids safe,” she said. “Ever since I got my test, my nostrils, my nose hurts.”
Other employees said they signed up to take the test out of fear of losing their jobs but said they found the questions on the form “suspicious” and “weird.” The questions, they said, included asking whether a person identifies as male, female, or non-binary gender.
Trustees listened to frustrated staff and skeptical parents who said masks were “suffocating” children.
“Like many of you have said, a lot of these rules make no sense,” Trustee Ben Kimbler said. “But the state of California is not giving us much choice if any choice at all.”
Kimbler and several other trustees agreed that even though they disliked the health mandates, they said the district couldn’t afford the potential legal and financial consequences of bucking the statewide health order.
Clovis Unified board members have had similar discussions in recent months and also decided to comply with the orders. School lawyers have said the health department has the force of the law behind it, although many parents who spoke at both meetings argue that it does not.
“I got some really good friends out there in the audience, and you guys are gonna hate me,” Kimbler said about following the law. “But for me to be able to keep this district open, I think we got to go there.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.