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Santa Barbara Unified approves vaccine mandate and removes testing option

SB Unified School Board votes in favor of vaccine mandate
board votes
Tracy Lehr / KEYT

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Santa Barbara Unified School Board Members voted unanimously to approve a vaccine mandate during a special meeting on Thursday night.

Board members approved a proposal removes the weekly COVID-19 testing option, and requires all employees to get vaccinated.

Board member Virginia Alvarez said it will require Santa Barbara Unified employees, volunteers and consultants to be fully vaccinated by November 1 and provide proof of vaccination.

Alvarez said it is something they have been discussing for a long time during the pandemic.

"With the increasing rates of COVID-19 and our collective responsibility to take care of each other as a community and to keep kids in school, this needs to be discussed."

She said schools have taken precautions and want to continue to refine their practices.

"We have been successful, and all schools are open."

The board listened to about 70 pubic comments that led to cheers and jeers among protesters standing outside the virtual meeting.

Superintendent Hilda Maldonado shared a letter from the American Academy of Pediatrics that supported the mandate resolution.

Board member Laura Capps said she supported the mandate to prevent children from getting sick.

"It is not right that those little bodies unsuspectingly can be given COVID by an adult whose job it is to care for children," said Capps.

Board President Kate Ford said, "I would never forgive myself if it ever happens that I could have done more to save any staff member or students from suffering or death."

Student school board member Dawson Kelly said , "I do believe that this resolution is backed up with enough scientific evidence and data that supports the safety of the staff affected."

The San Marcos High Junior said he was still an advocate for a fundamental right to choose.

"I still see that choice is available with the passing of this resolution. I am an advocate for the students 12 and under who are not able to be vaccinated, and with that being said, as a student, I do support this resolution with the understanding, and I emphasize this, that medical and religious exemptions will be highly considered," said Kelly.

Board member Rose Muñoz said, "Our students have a right to in-person learning in a safe setting."

Board member Wendy Sims-Moten said, " It's about not going back to the not-too-distant past of distance learning where there was a lot of suffering, issues with mental health."

Before the vote, Alvarez shared that she lost seven family members to COVID.

She was among the first to get the first dose of the Moderna vaccine in March and her second dose in April.

"I just felt so much better, I felt not only am I taking care of myself, but I am also taking care of my community."

About 88 percent of the district's 1,673 staff members are already vaccinated.

The resolution calls for the consideration of medical and religious exemptions, but that didn't please opponents who booed and shouted after vote.

Several said they thought board members had their minds made up before listening to public comments.

Dos Pueblos High School teacher Christy Lozano said she may leave the district.

"This is not the end for me, if it means teaching somewhere else, I will take myself, and I will go somewhere else and teach. I am a great teacher, I love children, and I will continue to do what I love to do and they will lose out."

A recent teacher survey overwhelmingly supported the vaccine mandate.

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Tracy Lehr

Tracy Lehr is a reporter and the weekend anchor for News Channel 3-12. To learn more about Tracy, click here

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