Should Stanislaus County defy state’s school closure order? Board majority rejects idea
Stanislaus County supervisors narrowly voted down a motion to defy a state order that keeps schools closed as the county remains a hot spot for COVID-19 illness.
Supervisor Terry Withrow’s motion was mostly symbolic because it would be voided by state law if approved, according the county counsel’s opinion. The motion was rejected on a 3-2 vote, with Chairwoman Kristin Olsen and supervisors Vito Chiesa and Jim DeMartini opposed.
Supervisor Tom Berryhill supported the motion to not use county staff or resources to enforce the state’s coronavirus school closure order.
The county has no authority over the operation of public and private schools. Withrow said he’s concerned distance learning is not able to educate students, and the prolonged school closures are detrimental for disadvantaged students who suffer from neglect, poor nutrition and abuse at home.
Supervisor Vito Chiesa said he wants schools to open as soon as possible, but it’s the role of the county public health officer to keep people safe.
DeMartini said he wasn’t aware of a public school district that’s made a firm decision to seek a waiver and try to reopen for classroom instruction in the upcoming weeks. He claimed the coronavirus pandemic has been overblown by the media, but it’s better for the county stay out of the school issue.
County Counsel Thomas Boze said the health orders issued by the governor and the state’s top health officials have the force of law and the county is obligated to heed the orders and enforce them.
Last week, the county public health officer invited school districts to apply for waivers as the coronavirus infection rate continues to fall toward a level of 200 per 100,000 population, at which the county health officer can approve safety plans for opening campuses for traditional kindergarten to sixth grade students.
The statistical rate, which has been the source of controversy, dropped to 236 on Tuesday, down from 244.5 per 100,000 on Monday. Officials believe it could reach the state threshold within a week.
High schools and middle schools have to wait until the county is off a state COVID-19 monitoring list before they can reopen.
Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, county health officer, tried to provide some clarity on the statistic rate used by the state and county in deciding when schools can apply for waivers for elementary schools. Based strictly on lab results reported to the state, the county’s rolling 14-day positive case rate has been above 600 per 100,000 and finally slipped below 600 on Monday.
People have been confused because the county’s data reporting went dark for three weeks after a state communicable disease recording system failed in late July. When the state began reporting data again in August, the daily reports included a backlog of older cases from July reflecting huge daily increases, up to 737, in the county’s case total.
The county’s 14-day rolling rate still includes some of those big case numbers, many of which are people who came down with coronavirus a while ago. To measure the current level of community spread, public health experts track things like symptom onset or when a person gives a sample for testing, instead of relying on when a positive test is reported to the state.
The lower 236 per 100,000 rate includes newer coronavirus cases, Vaishampayan said.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 3:05 PM.
