Public Comments - 8/24/2021 Governing Board Meeting

Please see below public comments submitted by form prior to the next Governing Board meeting on Tuesday, August 24, 2021. To view each public comment please click on the arrow to open. Click on the arrow again to minimize.

Public Comment 1

Submitted by: Amber Holt-Geary

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I received five emails home this year already regarding a potential Covid exposure to my student compared to a total of three for the entire school year last year. When will masks be required for students? At what infection rate will hybrid or remote learning begin?
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Submitted by: Allison Monroe

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Hello, Please consider following the guidance of the CDC and require masks for students and teachers in the classroom. There is another wave happening and our kids are paying the price. Please help us protect our kids that cannot get vaccinated, so that everyone can stay in school in person. At the start of COVID the board stated they would follow state metrics and AZDHS guidance. Both of those would show the need for mitigation in schools. Thank you, Allison Monroe
Public Comment 6

Submitted by: Michelle Gransee

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please consider masks being required at school. Kids are being deemed sick when it’s just allergies and questioned by teachers. I don’t send my kid to school sick! But she does have asthma. Kids are getting sick let and right due to no masks. Please consider this a requirement at school
Public Comment 7

Submitted by: Stephanie Johnson

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Public health is not a culture war. It is not an opinion. You must implement stronger Covid-19 mitigation at least for K-6 schools where most students cannot be vaccinated. Other districts have mandated masks for a period of time. Other districts require a negative test to enter school. If you won't mandate masks, why isn't it required a child shows proof of a negative test BEFORE school starts? Saying the air filters are good and sometimes the kids distance is not enough. It's not enough by anyone's standard. I'm very sorry that other vocal parents--some of whom have spoken at this board or shown up to this meeting--seem to get more weight in the decision of how to keep our children safe. This whole ordeal has been demoralizing. I'm so incredibly sad and disappointed both in this community I live in and the district in which I send my child to school. Once again, this has been a stressful and complicated start to the school year and this is in part due to the inaction of this board elected to keep children safe and even acknowledge Covid-19 is still a pandemic.
Public Comment 8

Submitted by: Melissa Thompson

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: As a parent of two elementary kids who are too young to be vaccinated, I am beyond frustrated with the lack of protections for our children. Masks should be required and I have seen other districts find loopholes and other ways to enact a mask mandate. If masks are not enforced, distancing must be in place. No more open house, meet your teacher nights, no more large gatherings. Virtual learning isn’t ideal for our elementary children and I’m not advocating for that. If our school are in person (as I would like them to stay) then MASKS NEED TO BE WORN to protect or students, teachers, facility and staff. I am disappointed that I have to write this; do we not care about the long term effects of Covid on our future generation?
Public Comment 9

Submitted by: Sofia A Tobar

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I removed my 5th grader after only 4 days of school, as they had positive cases in his classroom, and he and only one other child were regularly wearing masks. I want him to attend in person VERY MUCH, but is there any way we can protect the kids, until a vaccine is available, without mandating masks? Sadly he is attending Primavera, because they are much better equipped to manage online students than Global (which we had all last year), but I would LOVE if he could come back to in person classes - I'm just waiting for the District to take a stand for kids' safety. Is that forthcoming?
Public Comment 10

Submitted by: Brandi Baker

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: No masks for the kids at school. Keep it optional for the people that still feel the need to wear one, but it should NOT be mandatory for everyone. I am the parent and make the decision I feel is best for my kids and I choose to not have them masked.
Public Comment 11

Submitted by: Michelle Bair

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I request that GPS keeps mask wearing optional for the entire school year. Students have had enough struggles the last year and a half and it should be left up to each family to decide if wearing a mask is the right thing for them. I know that my kids are so much happier being mask free this year.
Public Comment 12

Submitted by: Staci Sturgeon

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I would like to request that the same COVID19 mitigation measures be put into place that were put into place last year including the benchmarks, mandatory mask wearing, etc. It is clear from the numbers of kids getting sick (no they might not die but over 1/3 of children ARE getting long COVID) that what we are doing so far this year is not working. The reason the benchmarks were put into place last year was due to scientific evidence that the mitigation strategies used worked and they did! Now for some reason, this year, with a stronger variant of the virus that IS affecting more kids, we're going to throw all that out because we have some parents that might be a little mad because their children are inconvenienced to wear a mask? That makes absolutely no sense and the only reason to not implement scientific mitigation strategies is if you are turning this into some political agenda which this is not. I don't care who you vote for - I want my kids and my neighbors kids protected and I WANT MY SCHOOL BOARD TO WANT THE SAME THING REGARDLESS!!!!!!!!!!!
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Submitted by: Justine Woods

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: require masks & set up online school like last year- my kids have already missed 2 weeks of school from exposure from other students and need to be able to stay connected with their teachers. Every other school district is doing something about it. I will literally cover our legal fees to take Ducey to court. Not kidding- I will pay. My company will cover all costs.
Public Comment 15

Submitted by: Caitlin G

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Masks need to continue to be optional! I currently have a 6 year old attending a school in your district. He is my first child attending school. He just started 1st grade. Last year he absolutely HATED kindergarten (cried daily) because of the masks. He attended summer school just fine and now in 1st grade he is just fine. Masks should be optional. Gilbert public schools does not have the right to make decisions for my children. I do as his mother. And my choice is no masks. I believe it is a form of child abuse. If parents want to wear masks or have their children wear masks and same goes for teachers, that's fine. That's their right. But I am not ok with my child wearing a mask. And I can tell you about 90% of the staff and parents of the students agree since most people do not wear masks which tells me they are NOT worried. If you are so concerned about what parents want for their children re masks then where is the surgery? I gave GPS a second chance and did not pull him out of school after last years crap. But if you mandate masks, I'm done. And so is my child. I will pull him and put him in a district or charter school that does not mandate masks. Higley and Chandler voted no for mask mandate. And I also want to remind you that masks cannot be mandate pursuant to Duceys order as of September 29th. Ducey also granted additional monies for school districts that do not have Covid restrictions. I suggest before making a decision, you speak with your financial advisor. And take into account IF GPS puts a restriction how many students will no longer be enrolled.

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Submitted by: CHRISTINA M HATCH

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please do not mandate children to wear a mask. Masks have not been proven to work. If they worked we would not have anymore cases. Stopping COVID 19 by wearing a mask is like stopping the smell of a fart with underwater. It does not work!
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Submitted by: Jason Miller

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please do not require masks for our children! At greenfield elementary, there are hardly any students or teachers wearing them. Meaning, this is not something our families want. Please keep them optional & do not make a medical mandate for our children.
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Submitted by: Alyson Groneman

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Masks should be optional. Parents should be able to decide this for their children. There are too many studies done that show masks cause more bacteria than a virus alone. There is NO scientific data to back up that masks work. This is setting our children back physically and mentally. Please listen to the parents. Thank you!

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Submitted by: Tricia Johnson

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please let parents decide what is best for their children. You decide how best to teach the curriculum. Let people decide if they want to wear masks or not. If my mask protects you, then you wear my mask as well and you’ll be fine. We do not want masks!
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Submitted by: Katrina Vanderhulst

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I would like the board to strongly consider enacting a mask mandate in the schools for all staff and students, to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 that we are seeing in the community and in neighboring states due to the current variant. We know that masks help prevent the spread AND protect the wearer when all parties wear a mask. Many parents are afraid to attend the meetings and/or speak up regarding the wearing of masks, but we all worry about our children who are catching COVID at an alarming rate. The 0-20 age group has reported 9,864 new cases in a 10-day period according to AZ DHS. We are seeing several neighboring schools enact a mask mandate to keep their staff, students and families safe from this vicious virus. PLEASE do something to keep the members of your school safe.
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Submitted by: James Johnson

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: As a pediatric dentist, this is the wrong move. Let people decide. Kids come in with a nasty, gross masks to my office. They drop them on the floor, step on them, pick them up and put them back on. There’s more harm being done with masks than good. Let parents decide.
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Submitted by: Heather Fillmore

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please do not mandate masks for Our kids. We moved here from Washington state because the restrictions put in place for the children were the focus NOT education and actually teaching them something. It should be a choice not a mandate! Those that want to wear them can and those that choose not to shouldn’t be made to do it!
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Submitted by: Benjamin Bobich

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Hello Board, I have three children at Mesquite Elementary (K, 3rd, 5th). We had a COVID case reported on 8/16 for a kid who was in class last on 8/10 for the third grade class. We kept our daughter home as a precaution. Contact tracing happened, and unfortunately despite this, another child came down with COVID a few days later. I had some discussions with the nurse, and learned that 1) Contact tracing is often done via school tables (who sits next to whom) and 2) The quarantines done via the contact tracing are not actually enforced. For example, if my child was contact traced, and had no symptoms, the school would not be able to prevent me from sending her in to school. No COVID test needs to be taken to return. The outcome of this is that COVID breakouts in classrooms are not getting "shut down" and infections could drag, causing kids to miss copious amounts of school. The final scary thing I learned is that even when there is a breakout, the kids in the classroom around the breakout aren't wearing masks. Only about a quarter of the kids were masking up when we had a known breakout in the classroom. To be frank this situation frightens me. When there is a breakout, we as a community are not doing what medical professionals would ask us to do, nor are we as a community applying adult judgement to the situation to prevent infections and get our kids able to stay in school. I would like you to consider the following for the sake of keeping schools open: 1) Allow the school to enforce contact tracing quarantine. Today all that happens is the parents get an email. Nobody enforces it, and this is a factor in our continued break out infections that can easily be fixed. 2) Require contact traced kids to have COVID tests to return. 3) If the teachers could raise awareness with students directly that there was a COVID case in the classroom after a report and offer the class masks which they can use at their discretion, this may help stem the spread. If the students are aware that COVID was in the class, even young children will be smart enough to mask up when offered one. Each teacher (not just the nurses) needs to be able to distribute the masks. It need not be the grown ups call in these types of situations when there is a known case. The teacher can offer masks as politeness, and the students should be able to accept it by their own judgement. 4) When there is a breakout, that classroom needs to be prepared to go online right away, just for a short time period. If we don't do this, the kids who slip the contact tracing process spread the disease over multiple weeks, resulting in breakouts that can affect a whole academic term. When we have a breakout case, we have to nip the problem in the bud much more aggressively. 5) Some schools are making masks part of the school dress-code instead of mandating masks thereby avoiding political conflict. If the school can legislate dress code policy around midriffs and skimpy shirts, they can do so with the masks as well. I don't know if such a measure would pass the school board, but I encourage you to discuss it, especially if it will help avoid a school closure. Thanks for your consideration. I hope someone has even better ideas as to how we can keep the schools open. Maybe these are a start, and help foster some creativity and ultimately lead to better solutions. Regards, Benjamin Bobich
Public Comment 253

Submitted by: Molly Heaton

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please, please leave the choice of wearing masks up to individuals and parents. We have four children in the school district, have been attending GPS schools for 9 years and LOVE our schools. I have been very disappointed in GPS the past few years in regards to mask mandates and virtual/hybrid learning. My youngest started Kindergarten and will not continue at his school if he is mandated to wear a mask. It is not in the best interest of our kids, especially our elementary school aged kids. We have many choices for schools around us, and as much as I would like to stay with GPS, I will do whatever is best for my children. In the past GPS has been a highly respected and sought after school district, and I hope the board will carefully consider all its decisions to keep our school district the best around.
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Submitted by: Amber Rohner

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please continue to allow parents to decide what is best for their children when it comes to masks. I do not want people who do not have children in our school district who I voted for to represent MY CHILDREN for me masking decisions that do not represent my sentiments. No mask mandates!
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Submitted by: Shannon Carlson

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please do not force our children to wear masks while at school for the next month until the law goes into effect. If parents are concerned for their children, they have the options to do either virtual school or have their child wear a mask. As parents, we know our children the best (including all medical conditions) and should have the right to choose what is in our child's best interest-- just as we have school choice/options and can choose to move our children if it does not appear that the current schools are the best learning environments for them.
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Submitted by: Kristin Jose

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I am the parent of a GPS student with multiple disabilities. Based on my child’s IEP, the least restrictive environment was determined to be a self-contained special education classroom. I opted for online instruction because of Covid, and because my child has a history of severe illness with respiratory viruses. I was originally planning to send my child in person once they can be vaccinated against Covid, because currently they are too young. However, after our State legislators added an item to the K-12 budget bill banning masking or vaccination requirements not just for students, but also for teachers and staff, my husband and I decided that we would keep our child online for the whole school year. We chose this because without the ability to require masking or vaccines, we do not believe that you will be able to provide adequate Covid safety on campus, and that you will most likely be unable to provide in-person schooling without significant interruptions for quarantines. We are now in a situation where parents of disabled kids, who are at increased risk of severe illness with Covid, must choose between their child’s safety from an infectious disease or their integrated in-person education. I believe that this is profoundly immoral. It is my understanding that for now, possibly only for a limited amount of time, masking requirements are legal. I ask you to prioritize the safety of your students and their ability to stay on campus in person. You know that there are precautions you can take against Covid that will make a difference, because you did it last school year, when you did require masking. Even if you can only legally require masking for a month, it will be a month of protection for kids who can’t yet be vaccinated. There will eventually be an EUA for Covid vaccines in the under-12 age group, and even a temporary masking requirement might just bridge the gap to vaccine availability for these kids. Lastly, I ask you to remember the story of the Good Shepherd, who went off in search of one lost sheep even though he had 99 others. We are frequently told that 99% of people come through Covid just fine, but let’s not forget that the other 1% are people. They are human, and they have inherent dignity and worth. We parents trust you with our precious children, and so I call on you to be good shepherds while they are in your care.
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Submitted by: Natalie Wright

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Keep masks optional, especially for the younger children. The vaccine is readily available for any teachers and staff and older children. All the adults in our home and our child who is 12 have been vaccinated. The current health and safety protocols are sufficient.
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Submitted by: Natalie Wright

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Keep masks optional, especially for the younger children. The vaccine is readily available for any teachers and staff and older children. All the adults in our home and our child who is 12 have been vaccinated. The current health and safety protocols are sufficient.
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Submitted by: Danielle

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: We have the right to choose whether or not our children wear masks at school, this should not be forced. Especially when, masks were being instructed to be worn last school year, OUTSIDE on the playground in 110 weather. However, it wouldn't have mattered if it was 60 degrees. They should ABSOLUTELY NOT be told to wear them outside on the playground. Also, these kids get their masks extremely dirty. Soiled. Some wear the same ones over again without cleaning. It is not healthy one bit and causes even more germs to get on their faces. Another important thing to note is that everyone is allowed to take off masks while seated at a restaurant, or in the school cafeteria, right? So the kids are already being "exposed" to one another every day anyway! They should be allowed to take them off at their desks too if you are really going to go through with this. Please do not mandate masks. We've been through enough.
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Submitted by: Melissa Wing

Live or Work in the District: No

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please do not mandate masks at school! Leave this decision up to the parents and stop taking away personal freedoms! Children cannot understand the teacher and struggle to hear what is being said when masks are worn! I have kids in both the high school and elementary school and this was a daily complaint last year from all 3 of my kids!
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Submitted by: Angelica Pack

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please vote to mandate masks until all children under 12 who attend school can be vaccinated. My child does not have a choice but to attend in person because GPS took away his online SpEd program this year that we were enrolled in last year. We are being forced to send him into an unsafe environment every single day. I do not want my child to contract COVID as it would be very traumatic for him because of his sensory issues and lack of verbal ability to tell me what is wrong. I beg of you for mask mandates to keep my younger child safe and also an online option for my SpED student as most of the kids in his class opt out of masks due to disability. My son will wear a mask but it does not good if everyone around him is unmasked. This is an Airborne spread virus where wiping down surfaces will not stop the spread.
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Submitted by: Amanda Ekman

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Please continue to keep masks an option for everyone in the schools. Everyone demanding masks has every opportunity to have their children wear a mask in school if they so choose. As a parent of a child with hearing loss, from chemotherapy, masks are detrimental to her both academically and socially, she needs to be able to see someone’s mouth move as they talk as do many young children who are leaning letters, words, and phonics. Please continue to allow masks to be something a parent can choose for their child and that teachers can choose for themselves as well.
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Submitted by: Kathy Thorpe

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Thank you for reading this feedback and for working to keep our kids safe. I want to express at this time my support of keeping masks optional for students of GPS. My children are all in elementary school and at that age masks are more of a burden than a benefit. They get slobbered on and stepped on and then donned back on the child’s face. One poor 2nd grader threw up in his mask last year because the rule was to keep it on. He ended up putting the dirty mask in his pants pocket because he didn’t know what else to do about it. Let me also mention kids sharing and trading masks. My daughter was excited to receive a cute mask from a friend and insisted on wearing it even though I told her it was unsafe. Do cloth masks really work? I believe they do not. If a person wants to protect him/herself from COVID, that individual should invest in a N-95 mask that protects the wearer. Thank you. Kathy Thorpe
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Submitted by: Brent Pack

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I am requesting a mask mandate be placed to keep those under 12 who can't be vaccinated safe. I have a pre-k student and he is one of 3 in a mask in a class of 10, that is not enough to keep him safe. I also have an autistic SpEd student and would like an online option for him. Although he is able to wear a mask only 1other student in his class of 6 wears a mask. Even if a mask mandate is placed those with a disability will be able to opt out of masks which still does not protect my mask wearing son. He did online last year and did well. It is not fair to offer online to all gen ed students but force him to go in person in an unsafe environment because he is in SpEd. It is the school districts responsibility to provide a safe environment for my child to learn in. On top of this his school day has been shortened because the principle refuses to accommodate his lunch by letting him eat in the classroom because he has severe sensory issues related to the cafeteria eating overall experience due to his autistic disorder. He would benefit and have more school time if an online program was offered.
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Submitted by: Kerrie Smith

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I can understand how many parents are split with the decision of what is safest for their children with some fearing COVID and others not. But for the parents that have children or family members with compromised immune systems or other health issues, they too have a choice to have their children wear masks, get vaccinated, homeschool or do online school. Masks will not prevent the spread of covid, colds or even the common flu. Are we to shut down our schools or lives every time a different strain of a flu virus occurs every year? Masks, just like getting vaccinated should be a choice and those that fear the common flu/ covid or other viruses have the choice: wear a mask, get vaccinated, stay home. But don’t impose your choice on others and make it a mandated issue removing the choice from others. Masks create more fear than they protect against the virus. Do we want our children to grow up living in fear or do we want them to have choices and understand freedom
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Submitted by: Elizabeth Farnsworth

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: I am writing in hopes that you will please finally consider the emotional and mental anxiety that this pandemic is unnecessarily causing our children. The constant bombardment of negativity, judgment, health and fear are taxing and damaging to these little ones that simply want to learn to read and swing on the swing. Implementing a mask mandate will only emotionally harm our children. It creates an atmosphere of fear. "Who is really under the mask?" "Can I trust someone I don't even know what they look like?" "Is a teacher upset or smiling?" "What are you saying, I can't hear you?" Children need to see the faces of others to learn to trust and be able to fully connect to another individual. Additionally, it is so difficult to hear someone's voice with a mask on. The academic understanding and ability to thrive in a classroom with masks is simply too difficult and frustrating that children are losing interested, falling behind, and becoming disconnected to the classroom environment that should be inviting, loving and focused. Please do not make masks mandatory. Give people the choice. Give children the best opportunity possible to thrive at school!
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Submitted by: Joe Turner

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Mandating masks for all children is not appropriate and has not been shown to statistically lower risks unless the proper mask is worn. Using cloth or paper masks increases potential upper respiratory illnesses. Allowing children to use masks is okay, FORCING children to wear them is negating my rights as a parent to consult with family medical professionals and do what is best for my child. The board needs to stick to education and allow medical decisions to be made by the parents.
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Submitted by: Karlynne Martin

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: Working in the medical industry, I understand how important it is to wear masks and follow all precautions due to COVID-19. By that, I mean wearing masks whether or not you have been vaccinated, always washing your hands for at least 20 seconds, and or using hand sanitizer. I also believe in social distancing and know that all of these remedies work to help prevent COVID-19. Please ensure that our students are safe as they are children and do not fully understand the impact of what is happening. Please require masks in the schools so that some of our kids and family members that are vulnerable are protected from this deadly virus. Thank you.
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Submitted by: Ian Nyberg

Live or Work in the District: Yes

Child(ren) attending a GPS school: Yes

Comment: If we are serious about teaching our children to learn to apply empirical science to live better lives, then we must teach them how to identify experts in different fields and to learn to evaluate and follow their advice. The top epidemiologists and virologists are being very clear: • Due to the circulating and highly contagious Delta variant, CDC recommends universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics: • Since the pandemic began, children represented 14.6% of total cumulated cases. For the week ending August 19, children were 22.4% of reported weekly COVID-19 cases. In spite of politics, we should encourage everyone to wear masks in school. They have been proven to save lives during the current global pandemic. Ian Nyberg, MD, PhD, parent of two in elementary school
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Last Modified on August 24, 2021

District Leadership

Public Comments - 8/24/2021 Governing Board Meeting

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