Turlock Unified seeks restraining order against trustee who refuses to don mask at meetings
Turlock Unified School District this week requested a temporary restraining order against school board member Jeffrey Cortinas, whom the district is suing for his refusal to wear a mask at meetings or instead participate remotely.
The district also requested a preliminary injunction. Lawyers for the district appeared in court virtually on Wednesday, court documents show. The matter was pushed to a hearing March 8.
The board and district filed a lawsuit against Cortinas on Feb. 2 after he consistently refused to follow public health rules and wear a mask in the boardroom. He also refused to participate in meetings remotely if the rest of the board was gathered in person.
This caused the board to bar student representatives and student honorees from participating in a November meeting, to cancel a meeting in January and ultimately to vote to meet virtually, among other actions.
The board has met online since January. In court documents, the district and board blame Cortinas for their inability to resume meetings in person. Trustees are asking the court to force Cortinas to wear a mask or participate remotely so they can meet in person “as soon as possible to encourage student and public participation,” according to court documents.
Though California’s mask mandate expired this month, students and staff still are required to wear face coverings in school buildings, including during school board meetings when students are present. Violating public health orders could cause the district to be fined, according to court documents filed by the district.
Spokeswoman Marie Russell said by email Thursday that the district took legal action to “ensure that all board members comply with the masking requirements set forth by the California Department of Public Health, the legal authority charged with protecting people in California from the spread of preventable infectious diseases.”
“No individual is being denied access to a meeting, they are being asked to comply with the indoor masking requirement to do so,” Russell said in the email.
Cortinas did not respond to a request for comment by The Modesto Bee’s deadline. On his personal Facebook page, he posted a screenshot of an email notifying him of the district’s request for a temporary restraining order and asked people to “please share.”
He noted that the district is spending time and money to pursue the case against him.
Court documents filed by the district say it will “suffer irreparable injury” if Cortinas is not compelled to comply with public health laws requiring a face covering when present indoors with students at district board meetings.
The district requested the hearing ex parte, which means it’s prioritized on the court’s calendar and can be heard on a shortened time period. Before the hearing, the school board will meet as regularly scheduled on Tuesday. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly previously said state officials would consider whether to change school mask requirements Feb. 28.
A case management conference on the lawsuit is scheduled for June 6.
This story has been updated to correct an explanation of an ex parte hearing.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 5:56 PM.
