There will be a Special Board Meeting on Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 4 pm in the DCHS Cafeteria.
Thursday, September 2, 2021 Agenda
Video of meeting
We are sorry that we were not able to record the first part of the meeting. Below you will find what Michael Ziegler, GUSB Board Chair read verbatim:
Policy overrides handbook. Law overrides policy.
We are not having a revote or discussion on whether to obey the bus mask mandate. What this meeting is about, is putting the last meeting, and keeping subsequent meetings, as well as the district, in compliance with parliamentary procedure, state, and federal law.
To clear up the misconception that a mandate is not a law: The CDC is requiring masks on school buses. The CDC is doing so pursuant to authority granted it by Congress under 42 U.S.C. Section 264. Courts generally hold that any law on the books is presumed constitutional unless proven otherwise. There has not yet been any successful challenge to the order requiring masks on public conveyances (including school buses) adopted by the CDC. Failure to comply is listed as a violation of federal law. Public conveyances is the word the CDC uses to include our buses.
Something else I’d like to clear up is the misconception that we have local control over federal law. I’ve heard it said quite often that if we let the Feds have the power, it sets precedent. That precedent is already set and quite firmly established for some time. I don’t agree with it, I think it is wrong, but my personal feelings don’t change clearly established facts.
I’ve heard that we need to take a stand. I agree, but we need to be standing on something. If we are not standing on proper procedure and law, then where, exactly, are we standing?
I can’t speak for every individual on the board. But just to make sure everyone is clear on where myself and the board as a whole stands, we are not out to mask kids. Quite the contrary. We are, however, bound by procedure and law. In our official capacities, we cannot act solely on our personal beliefs and wants.