WE WON!! THE BOARD FINALLY AGREED TO REQUIRE PROPER DUE DILIGENCE AND CONSULTATION BEFORE ANY FUTURE PLAN CHANGES!! THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE VICTORY FOR OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND WE WILL BE WATCHING TO MAKE SURE THEY KEEP THEIR PROMISE!!
March 5, 2022
Demand WASD School Board Directors do their due diligence before any Health & Safety Plan amendments
Final supporters
On December 21, 2021, a majority of School Board Directors for Wellsboro Area School District voted to table the Resolution to Amend the existing Health & Safety Plan to eliminate universal masking within WASD schools. At the time of that meeting, the amendment to the resolution was proposed without any committee meetings among board members, no consultation with relevant local professionals or resources, and no board-directed teacher or student surveys or meetings conducted. This was one of the reasons discussed at the meeting for tabling the vote, with an emphasis on the need to make amendments to the Health & Safety Plan only AFTER careful consideration, and not haphazardly in order to pacify the personal demands of certain School Board Directors.
During the meeting previous to the Dec. 21 meeting (Dec. 15, 2021), a vote for altering the Health & Safety Plan was also delayed, with the President of the School Board discussing a need for hearing from "boots on the ground," mentioning specifically school principals and staff as well as relevant healthcare professionals. The word "compromise" was also used multiple times, indicating, at minimum, a discussion among the School Board Directors to come up with a well-developed, revised Health & Safety plan that might better address the needs and concerns from all sides of the issue. However, it was made clear by members of the School Board at the Dec. 21st meeting that none of those efforts took place before the Resolution to Amend was presented for vote.
This petition is to respectfully demand the fulfillment of WASD's School Board Directors' duty to do their due diligence when making any decisions that affect the "health and safety" of the students, teachers, administrators and staff within the district. Directors should work together to seek out appropriate counsel, form relevant committees for discussion of changes, and act in a responsible timeframe to ensure that any amendments to the Health & Safety Plan satisfy, reflect, and/or anticipate changes to the progression of Covid-19 and its local case rates; availability of local resources, preventatives, and treatments; DOH, PDE, CDC, etc. recommendations; Pennsylvania State funding and grant responsibilities; and all other relevant considerations.
Failure to make these efforts would be negligent and a dereliction of duty by Wellsboro Area School District's School Board Directors to operate in a way that best serves the district, its students and teachers, and the local community at large.
**For verification, since some board members believe petition results don't represent people who reside within our district, please consider leaving your basic address (street name and town) in the comments when you sign.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
January 5, 2022
69 Comments
Protecting our children is the board's greatest responsibility. All decisions on the Health and Safety Plan must be made with scientifically grounded, researched data, and not on the opinion of individuals who are not expert in the field of pandemic mitigation.
Amending the Health and SAfety Plan must only be done with consultation with staff and health care professionals to ensure it is appropriate for all students and adults in our schools.
Mount Zion Road, Charleston township, Wellsboro PA. Not including health and safety recommendations from professionals/experts in a school health and safety plan seems blatantly irresponsible and not well thought out.
As a former parent of students in WAHS and as a current grandparent of students in WAHS, and as a supporter of teachers and staff at all the schools, I strongly support the mask mandate as is; keep our children and community safe.
I agree that we need people outside the school board , specifically physicians , hospital staff , local pediatricians and health dept members. A separate bipartisan committee would be best.
Ives Street
The first problem is getting certain school board members to acknowledge their own lack of knowledge of basic Science and Public Health Principles and the second is getting those members to comprehend that the policies they propose put the greater community at risk and have consequences beyond those who are in the confines of the building. And the third and greater problem to address is to get those members to CARE about their neighbors and community more than they care about their own narrow interests.
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WE WON!! THE BOARD FINALLY AGREED TO REQUIRE PROPER DUE DILIGENCE AND CONSULTATION BEFORE ANY FUTURE PLAN CHANGES!! THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE VICTORY FOR OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND WE WILL BE WATCHING TO MAKE SURE THEY KEEP THEIR PROMISE!!
March 5, 2022
Demand WASD School Board Directors do their due diligence before any Health & Safety Plan amendments
Final supporters
On December 21, 2021, a majority of School Board Directors for Wellsboro Area School District voted to table the Resolution to Amend the existing Health & Safety Plan to eliminate universal masking within WASD schools. At the time of that meeting, the amendment to the resolution was proposed without any committee meetings among board members, no consultation with relevant local professionals or resources, and no board-directed teacher or student surveys or meetings conducted. This was one of the reasons discussed at the meeting for tabling the vote, with an emphasis on the need to make amendments to the Health & Safety Plan only AFTER careful consideration, and not haphazardly in order to pacify the personal demands of certain School Board Directors.
During the meeting previous to the Dec. 21 meeting (Dec. 15, 2021), a vote for altering the Health & Safety Plan was also delayed, with the President of the School Board discussing a need for hearing from "boots on the ground," mentioning specifically school principals and staff as well as relevant healthcare professionals. The word "compromise" was also used multiple times, indicating, at minimum, a discussion among the School Board Directors to come up with a well-developed, revised Health & Safety plan that might better address the needs and concerns from all sides of the issue. However, it was made clear by members of the School Board at the Dec. 21st meeting that none of those efforts took place before the Resolution to Amend was presented for vote.
This petition is to respectfully demand the fulfillment of WASD's School Board Directors' duty to do their due diligence when making any decisions that affect the "health and safety" of the students, teachers, administrators and staff within the district. Directors should work together to seek out appropriate counsel, form relevant committees for discussion of changes, and act in a responsible timeframe to ensure that any amendments to the Health & Safety Plan satisfy, reflect, and/or anticipate changes to the progression of Covid-19 and its local case rates; availability of local resources, preventatives, and treatments; DOH, PDE, CDC, etc. recommendations; Pennsylvania State funding and grant responsibilities; and all other relevant considerations.
Failure to make these efforts would be negligent and a dereliction of duty by Wellsboro Area School District's School Board Directors to operate in a way that best serves the district, its students and teachers, and the local community at large.
**For verification, since some board members believe petition results don't represent people who reside within our district, please consider leaving your basic address (street name and town) in the comments when you sign.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
January 5, 2022
69 Comments
We need to give our frontline workers our support by doing everything in our power to stop the spread of Covid. Masking works! Consult with healthcare professionals if you have any doubts. Gas Company Rd., Wellsboro
Protecting our children is the board's greatest responsibility. All decisions on the Health and Safety Plan must be made with scientifically grounded, researched data, and not on the opinion of individuals who are not expert in the field of pandemic mitigation.
Amending the Health and SAfety Plan must only be done with consultation with staff and health care professionals to ensure it is appropriate for all students and adults in our schools.
Mount Zion Road, Charleston township, Wellsboro PA. Not including health and safety recommendations from professionals/experts in a school health and safety plan seems blatantly irresponsible and not well thought out.
As a former parent of students in WAHS and as a current grandparent of students in WAHS, and as a supporter of teachers and staff at all the schools, I strongly support the mask mandate as is; keep our children and community safe.
I agree that we need people outside the school board , specifically physicians , hospital staff , local pediatricians and health dept members. A separate bipartisan committee would be best.
Ives Street
The first problem is getting certain school board members to acknowledge their own lack of knowledge of basic Science and Public Health Principles and the second is getting those members to comprehend that the policies they propose put the greater community at risk and have consequences beyond those who are in the confines of the building. And the third and greater problem to address is to get those members to CARE about their neighbors and community more than they care about their own narrow interests.
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We need to give our frontline workers our support by doing everything in our power to stop the spread of Covid. Masking works! Consult with healthcare professionals if you have any doubts. Gas Company Rd., Wellsboro