Federal COVID relief funds withheld from school after it ends mask mandate

The Oregon Department of Education has withheld federal COVID relief from the Alsea School District in Benton County after it lifted its mask mandate.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The Alsea School District in Benton County, Oregon has had federal COVID funds withheld from it by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) after it made a decision to lift its mask mandate.

"ODE does not support the decision in Alsea School District. They should expect rapid transmission of COVID-19 that will prevent students from participating in in-person learning," said the department in a statement.

According to Oregon Live, Marc Thielman "a Republican who’s running for governor of Oregon," said the district will be sticking to its new voluntary mask policy, which will be implemented when the schools reopen on Monday.

"The decision comes from the overwhelming quantitative and qualitative data and scientific evidence that masking has had little to no significant effect at slowing the spread of (the omicron variant of Covid-19)," Thielman told Oregon Live in a response by email.

"Our current omicron wave that created our staff shortage occurred when we were still enforcing masking. This reality only adds to the wisdom of our school board to take back local control and let each individual make their own decisions regarding masking."

"This means parents must decide if they wish for their child to be masked when at school, both inside or outside," concluded Thielman.

Thielman continued expressing the same sentiment on his Twitter account on Sunday:

"At what point, will Gov. Brown & OHA [the Oregon Health Authority] listen to diversity of voices they’re tasked with serving as experts across the globe move to balance measures against the collateral damages done by the very measures they installed to protect the public?"

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Join and support independent free thinkers!

We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.

Support The Post Millennial

Remind me next month

To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 The Post Millennial, Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell My Personal Information