Superintendents in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties plea to change vaccine mandate
All five superintendents in Calaveras County and one in Tuolumne County are pleading with Gov. Gavin Newsom to change the vaccine mandate for students, arguing that half or more of their students could leave if required to vaccinate against Covid-19.
According to the Union Democrat, a local newspaper, Michael Merrill, superintendent of the Summerville Union High School District in Tuolumne, stated in a letter dated Dec. 1 that according to surveys, 61% of the 650 students currently enrolled may not return for in-person learning if required to get the vaccine.
“A majority of our families have made it clear through surveying and personal conversations that they feel that vaccinating their students is a personal choice and should not be mandated,” Merrill said in his letter. “That is not good for our students, our school and its program, nor our community.”