During the August 10 meeting of the Morongo Unified School District board of Trustees, a group of around 60 protestors gathered to oppose the district’s 2021-2022 student mask mandate, requesting a special board meeting to review those district policies. The board did not grant the special meeting and student mask policies remained unchanged. Last night, a group of around 15 protestors returned to again voice their opposition to mandates on student masking and the district’s strict COVID-19 testing requirements for student athletes. During public comment, the protesters again requested the addition of exemption clauses to both mandates. In a statement released August 10, the school district clarified that current mask mandates and student athlete testing requirements were created using guidance from national, state, and county health agencies (the CDC, CDPH, and SBCDPH) to mitigate and reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and that regulations would be re-evaluated the week of September 13 and updated if necessary.
