Updated: A third California school district has voted to resist the children's vaccine mandate

Two school districts in a mountainous rural county of California are leading the way in resisting a medical experiment on its children. Calaveras County is rebelling against the State of California’s plan to force children 5 – 11 years old to receive the experimental Covid pseudo-vaccines to protect against a virus which is of essentially no risk to otherwise healthy kids.  The county is neither heavily populated (estimated 45,000 souls) nor wealthy and lies at high altitude in the gold country of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and foothills. It is so rural that there is only one incorporated town, Angels Camp, in the entire county.

Calaveras County

Credit: Dave Benbennick pubic domain

Yet Calaveras County seems to be the leader in resisting a nonsensical, unscientific mandate to conduct a mass experiment on children. The Calaveras Enterprise reports:

At a Calaveras Unified School District (CUSD) board meeting Tuesday night, the board voted 5-0 against upholding the state-issued COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students and staff. 

The five board members voted on an action put forth by board member Bryan Porath to “not enforce, support, or comply” with the mandate, which requires all students and school staff to be vaccinated by July of next year, following FDA approval of the vaccine for the child’s specific age group.

CUSD is Calaveras County's largest school district and includes Calaveras High School, five elementary schools and one middle school.

This decision follows after the Mark Twain Union Elementary School District became the first in the county to vote against enforcing the mandate last week. 

Some school districts throughout the state have similarly expressed concerns or pledged not to uphold the mandate, including districts in Apple Valley and Happy Valley, with one school board member in Temecula Valley resigning to avoid getting vaccinated, though it is undetermined whether the state rules apply to school board members. (snip)

While the CUSD board’s decision was unanimous regarding the mandate for children to be vaccinated, discussions over whether the same rules should apply to teachers and school staff presented differing opinions.

Health Impact News reports:

The school board had previously announced their rejection of the mandate and their intention to hold a vote on the issue in a letter to families and staff on November 4, as they announced there may be consequences from the State of California for defying the vaccine mandate.

The board is aware of the potential impacts on the district in terms of possible liability exposure, funding loss, other formal actions that can be taken against the district in response—and they understand the Superintendent’s recommendation for mandate compliance based upon these potential consequences—but they feel strong in their individual positions on this topic, as expressed on October 19th and as will be discussed on November 9th, when their vote will determine the position and direction of the district on this matter.

The school board’s action also defied the Superintendent’s recommendation, who apparently stands to potentially lose financially. Perhaps his job is on the line?

Prior to voting, Superintendent Mark Campbell advised the board that based on liability and the risks associated with going against the state-issued mandate—including “fall back from unions” and OSHA, state and local public health orders, and potentially losing Covid-related funding—he would recommend that the district remain in compliance with the state’s rules. Campbell advised that the district “stand(s) to lose students and staff on either end.”

One commenter from the audience told the board:

“I am so proud of you guys. I am so proud to be in Calaveras County, and I am so proud that we are united. I’m so proud. I know It takes a lot of courage to take a stand like this. I’m so proud of each one of you, and I’m so proud of all of us. … We’re gonna have your back.” Applause and a shout of  “we got your back” echoed the sentiment throughout the room.

 Mark Twain set his short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” there commemorating the rough and tumble gold rush days there. I wonder what he would think of the locals’ refusal to jump to the command of Gavin Newsom?

CORRECTION: The update below confused Clovis and Calaveras. In fact, parents in Clovis are still working hard to fight back against the vaccine mandate. For those who are interested, information about board meetings is available here.

Update: Vias Leslie Eastman of Legal Insurrection:

Clovis Unified School District’s Board of Trustees recently voted to refuse to implement Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pending COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

In a 5-0 vote, the CUSD Board of Trustees decided to “not ‘support, enforce or comply with’” the mandate.

The decision came during a Tuesday meeting and applies to both students and staff. According to CUSD, they will discuss and possibly make a decision on mask mandates and testing protocols at a later meeting on Nov. 23.

In a Nov. 4 letter, the district said it was aware of the possible repercussions, including loss of funding and “other formal actions.”

Clovis could not contrast more with Calaveras -- except in the matter of courage and desire to protect its children. It is in the flat Central Valley, and is a fast-growing semi-suburban community north of Fresno, with a population of about 120,000 people. 

Hat tip: Meich Wan

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