The mandate is clear and the requirements are reasonable. On Friday, our State Government issued a balanced and well thought out approach to schools reopening for the Fall while we continue to navigate the global pandemic.

As residents, we have been asked to prioritize the health and safety of our community over personal comfort. We have been asked to unite as a region, to protect each other's lives and long term health, and to take simple actions for the good of all.

As a county, our priority must be getting off the CA monitoring list, and granting frivolous waivers to elementary education will only push us farther away from opening schools for kids of all ages.

Waivers for elementary education may only be granted if:

"requested by the superintendent (or equivalent for charter or private schools), in consultation with labor, parent, and community organizations. Local health officers must review local community epidemiological data, consider other public health interventions, and consult with CDPH when considering a waiver request."

The anti-safety coalition has argued that all of our K-12 kids need socialization that can only come with in-person instruction. They have argued that younger children, especially, cannot wear a mask properly, cannot social distance, and cannot avoid physical contact with each other or adults. In-person instruction of elementary schools with Teachers, Staff, and Students gathering in tight proximity exposes them and the community at large to carrying, contracting, and proliferating the spread of this disease.

In order for all of our kids to get back to in-person instruction, we must be "a local health jurisdiction (LHJ) that has not been on the county monitoring list within the prior 14 days." Outright defiance of the order is irresponsible and contrary to the wishes of 63,000 concerned people.

Our first goal must be to get off the CA monitoring list.