Oakdale mask protests lead to misinformation, threats of violence, canceled board meeting
Protests against mask rules in the Oakdale Joint Unified School District last week interrupted learning, sparked the spread of false information and prompted threats toward employees, Superintendent Dave Kline said. Consequently, changes are being made.
On Monday, the district canceled its scheduled board meeting for that evening over threats made to trustees and employees.
The Stanislaus County school district is legally required to follow rules on masks set by the California Department of Public Health. Of over 5,000 students in the district, hundreds protested the district’s enforcement of the state rules.
School officials initially sought to accommodate peaceful protests on campuses last week. But junior high and high school students who refuse to wear masks will not be permitted in classrooms, cafeterias or gymnasiums this week. Instead, they will be instructed to enroll in independent study, Kline announced in a message sent to families Sunday.
“It’s disrupting our educational environment to the point where we just cannot — it’s unsustainable,” Kline said in a phone interview with The Bee.
A spokesperson for the state public health agency said health policies for schools are in place to ensure safe in-person instruction for all students. “Masking at schools is an effective tool to minimize spread of COVID,” the spokesperson said by email.
School districts could face financial penalties for not enforcing the state’s COVID-19 policies, Kline said.
Alternative school settings offered
When students numbering more than 300 refused to wear face coverings Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, school officials set up alternative places for students to learn, Kline said. He said it was an effort to respect their right to protest.
Using Chromebooks, high school students could work in the gym, and elementary school students could work in cafeterias.
“We wanted to accommodate them as best we could,” Kline said, but the protests turned “defiant.” For two days in a row, some 40 to 50 high school students left the gym without permission and protested at the district office, the superintendent said.
The groups Reopen California Schools and Let Them Breathe posted on social media false claims that students were “barricaded” in the gym with no heat. The misinformation was quote-tweeted by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and reported on by London’s Daily Mail.
Students were not barricaded in, Kline said. As school officials rearranged gym furnishings to socially distance the increasing numbers of protesting students, they rested some broken tables against four doors for about five minutes, he said.
The gym has over a dozen doors total, Kline said. Police, fire and city officials arrived at the school and deemed the area safe, he said.
“If 50 kids left, that would give you an indication that yes, they were able to get outside pretty easily,” the superintendent said.
As for the temperature, there’s normally no need for heat in the gym because students are exercising, he said. School employees noticed that some of the students protesting were cold, so they tried to turn on the heater but ran into a technical issue that was later fixed.
School employees threatened
School employees at all levels — from secretaries to administrators — have been “absolutely inundated” with hateful calls and emails from people across the country, Kline said.
Friday, a parent threatened employees at Oakdale High School in person. Kline shared a video with The Bee.
“I’m gonna find out where you f---ing live,” a man is heard saying in the video. “I’m gonna come to your f---ing house and hurt you. Hurt you”
“Are you threatening me?” Kline said the principal asked.
“Yeah” the man is heard responding.
Multiple emails and phone messages sent to school officials and reviewed by The Bee said criminal charges should be filed and people should be in jail. They referenced “child abuse.”
In a voicemail that Kline said was left for a secretary, the caller says, “F--- all of you worthless, filthy, degenerate, Marxist scum.”
District’s insurance at risk
People should direct complaints to the state government, Kline said. “They’re the ones that are making the decisions,” he said.
The district’s insurance company said it would not cover potential cases regarding COVID-19 if OJUSD did not follow the state’s mask mandate, Kline said. The district also could be fined by Cal-OSHA, and the school board and administrators could face criminal liability, he said.
“We cannot break the law,” Kline said.
The district no longer will provide alternative settings to unmasked junior high and high school students. Elementary school students not wearing masks will continue to be moved to cafeterias to do their schoolwork for the time being. The younger students haven’t caused issues like those seen at the high school level, Kline said.
Some parents have sent messages thanking Kline and encouraging the district to continue enforcing the mask mandate. One parent said her children have experienced stress and fear of retaliation for not participating in the protests.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
