Letters to the Editor: O.C. schools are free to ignore the county board’s coronavirus nonsense

To the editor: I served on the Fountain Valley School District’s Board of Trustees from 1990 to 2002. I was appalled to learn that the Orange County Board of Education wants kids in class next month without masks or social distancing.

But, I can honestly say that at no time during my 12 years as a school board member did I ever consult with or listen to what this board had to say. The boards of the various school districts in Orange County would be wise to do the same.

While the Orange County Department of Education is mandated to exist because of the state education code, now may be the time to look at what its board really does. The OCDE does some administrative things, but I never really figured out what the governing board actually did.

Maybe we don’t need this board at all.

Robert Sedlak, Fountain Valley

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To the editor: We should let science lead and not politicize health. The mounting scientific evidence shows COVID-19 does not impact children the way it does adults.

No children under 18 have died from COVID-19 in California. Nationwide, far more people under 18 die of the seasonal flu every year than have died from COVID-19, and we do not close schools because of the flu.

Many European countries have reopened their schools. Mounting evidence there shows kids do not spread the disease. In contrast, the mental health crisis in kids and adolescents here is now staggering.

We need to be on the right side of science on this issue and not harming kids and parents. Teachers have equal if not greater risks in the community than in the classroom. Read the latest German study on COVID-19 infections among schoolchildren and teachers.

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD, Newport Beach

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To the editor: The Council for Exceptional Children is an international association that advocates for and serves students with special needs. The Orange County chapter is extremely concerned about the action recently taken by the Board of Education to recommend reopening schools without students wearing masks or maintaining social distance.

Our greatest concern is for students who are served through the Orange County Department of Education. These students are some of the most fragile and severely disabled students who have a much higher risk from the effects of COVID-19.

It is totally irresponsible for the Orange County Board of Education to recommend that these students receive their special education with no safety precautions.

Susan Jennings, Newport Beach

The writer is president of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Orange County chapter.

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To the editor: One resident said the following to the Orange County Board of Supervisors: “We here in Orange County are the heart of the resistance. We need to stand up. We need to show these people that we are not afraid.”

Well, I am afraid. I am afraid of people who think the way she does. I am afraid of the arrogance, ignorance and just plain stupidity of people who think the way she does.

Will this person be afraid when she or someone she loves is on a ventilator and possibly dying in a hospital? Probably not.

Orange County is becoming a scary place with people who think the way she does.

Susanne Gordon, Granada Hills