Photo Credit: newsweek.com
Last week we spoke about a Covid crisis underway at Scottsdale Unified; the district governing board got the message and took quick and decisive action last week and implemented a mask mandate last week.
The decisive 4-1 vote sets up another potential showdown with Governor Ducey; last week he announced that he would withhold federal funds from schools that implemented mask mandates such as this. Scottsdale joins numerous other public school districts (primarily those in more traditional Democratic strongholds) as well as numerous private and charter schools in putting these mitigation practices in place. Such attempts have generally been in line with guidance from the CDC as well as the Arizona Department of Health.
The backlash was swift, it was estimated that 100 people came to protest masks at the meeting where the vote took place, although public comment was not allowed. Additionally, this past weekend two SUSD parents announced that they were going to attempt to recall the 4 board members who voted yes. Similar attempts to recall have befell several other districts with similar votes.
While the political lines have long been drawn on a health crisis, the pandemic has continued to worsen across much of the country, including in Florida where active cases and hospitalizations are far out-pacing previous highs from this winter. Even in the midst of an unquestionable public health crisis there, protests against masks and vaccinations have raged on.
As of the day of writing this, Maricopa County announced over 2,000 additional new cases today. For a full list of school districts with mandates in place, head here.