COSTA MESA, Calif.—A group of parents, teachers, and other concerned citizens gathered in front of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District education center in Costa Mesa, California, Dec. 14 to protest the continued masking of children within the schools and a possible vaccinate mandate.
Of main concern was the current mask mandate in place for students, which comes from the California Department of Public Health, as well as a the fear of a vaccine mandate coming for K–12 students.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Oct. 1 that K–12 students in public and private schools will be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in 2022.
Parents said the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees, while not imposing any mandates of their own, is not doing enough to stand up to the state, listen to parents, and lead in the best interest of kids.
Whitney Huerta, a mother of two children in the district, said the board needs to leave the choice of vaccinating children up to the parents, not the government.
“I am absolutely against them telling me what I need to do with my children. y’re my children. It’s my choice. This is an experimental drug that already shows serious side effects and I’m not willing to be a guinea pig,” Huerta told Pezou.
A middle school teacher within the district who asked to be unnamed said while she believes the school board is just doing what they are told, they need to resist the state’s mandate and do what is in the best interest of teachers, staff, and students.
“I don’t think the government should be in our business of what we have to do with our bodies. We should have freedom of choice,” she told Pezou.
“What happened to, scientific debate, discovery, argument, discussion? People … are just putting everyone else down who has a different narrative than the agenda they’re pushing.”
Danielle Mills, parent of two kids at a middle and high school within the district, said she is strongly against making kids wear masks.
“I’m a little afraid of what is happening to all of the kids. masks are bad because the kids can’t breathe. y’re not getting the oxygenation that they need. y’re having a hard time studying in school or being in class,” Mills told Pezou.
“I’m anti-mask, butt pro-choice. If someone wants to put their kid in a mask, by all means that is their choice. But I should be able to choose to not mask my kids.”
Mills said she is about the board being beholden to the state to continue receiving funds for the school district.
Pezou : Parents, Teachers Protest Newport-Mesa Unified Mask, Vaccine Mandates