Chesapeake Teachers Union ratifies vote of no confidence in school board after board votes to make masks optional in schools

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The Chesapeake Education Association has ratified a vote of no confidence in the city’s school board after the board voted to make masks optional in schools starting Jan. 24.

In a statement, the Chesapeake Education Association called the school board’s actions “reckless” and said the vote reflected “a complete lack of faith in the ability of Chesapeake School Board members to lead ethically and fairly.” .

In a 7-to-1 vote last week, Chesapeake School Board members voted to give parents the option of whether or not to have masks for their student. The vote came after Governor Glenn Youngkin rescinded mask mandates in Virginia schools with an executive order signed the day he took office.

On Tuesday, 13 Chesapeake Public School parents filed a lawsuit in which they say Governor Youngkin does not have the authority he claims to make masks optional in schools. On Thursday, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said he asked the Virginia Supreme Court to dismiss the lawsuit against Youngkin and Executive Order 2.

The full text of the Chesapeake Education Association’s vote of no confidence is as follows:

Since March 2020, Chesapeake Public Schools educational staff have collectively made the most of a global pandemic by continuing to provide a high-level education to Chesapeake children. We are continually rebuilding, replanning and rethinking how best to serve our students in all facets of the school day to ensure student safety and learning. School board actions were hostile to staff’s attempts to serve all students in these uncertain times. As such, and in light of our school board’s reckless disregard for state law and the safety of the school community in allowing optional student masking on Thursday, January 20, members of the Chesapeake Education Association have proposed and ratified a vote of NO TRUST in the Chesapeake City School Board. This vote reflects a complete lack of confidence in the ability of Chesapeake School Board members to lead ethically and fairly. We contend that elected officials serving on the Chesapeake City School Board continue to demonstrate an unwillingness to consider the safety of their employees and students at a time when the city’s test positivity rates are soaring. are close to fifty percent, which is well above last year’s rates. at the same time when many schools had a hybrid schedule. This decision demonstrates that the school board lacks a sincere desire to support a truly safe environment in our school buildings. The potential for negative and life-threatening impacts further reinforces this position of NO TRUST.

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