Letter to Governor

August 25, 2021

The Honorable Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington

PO Box 40002

Olympia, WA 98504-0002

RE: Mask wearing requirements and vaccine mandates in K-12 Schools

Dear Governor Inslee:

The Touchet School District Board of Directors, along with the administration, believe that there are multiple ways to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and decisions affecting our school should be locally controlled to custom tailor an approach most appropriate for our students, employees, and community. We feel that the masking and vaccination mandates are not the only or best answer when it comes to developing a safe environment for our students to thrive, and we ask that you amend your proclamations to lift these mandates.

We take COVID-19 and the health of our students and staff very seriously and maintain that the issue of masking should be decided locally in consultation with our County Health District. Smaller schools like the Touchet School District have different capabilities for social distancing and potentially lower transmission rates in comparison with the larger schools in the state. During the 2020-2021 school year, our K-12 school had students succeeding with in-person instruction for most of nine months without a single transmission within the district. We want to make masking decisions at the local school district level, in the best interest of our students, employees, families, and community.

We also ask that the vaccination mandate be lifted, as it crosses moral, ethical, and philosophical lines to require educators and staff to comply with a vaccine mandate in order to keep their job, infringing upon civil rights and impairing our employees’ ability to provide for their families. The Touchet School District hosted vaccine clinics in 2021 and we will continue to coordinate with our County Health District to provide vaccine access. We request that you restore vaccine decision-making to each individual based on their medical, religious and personal situation, and lift the mandate that will negatively impact our community.

We are committed to doing what is best for our students and employees, and we have demonstrated success in making their safety and educational experience our highest priority. Please reinstate local school decision-making on the issue of masking and lift the vaccine mandate.

Thank you for considering our requests when it comes to the education of our children,  the livelihood of our teachers and staff, and the needs of our community.

Sincerely,

Touchet School District Board of Directors and Administration