On March 2, 2022, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees finally voted to end their mask mandate. Their decision was made months after similar decisions in other local school districts. As we move away from masking in AISD, let’s take a look back at the absurdity that’s taken place in the district in the last few months.
From the outset, let me say that I agree with this request from AISD Superintendent Elizalde:
Yes, no matter what, the kids should be supported. Masked or unmasked, kids should feel safe and comfortable. In fact, I hope they are all happy & smiling from ear to ear.
But, no, this support does not extend to the people who imposed and maintained this mask mandate, including Superintendent Elizalde, the AISD Board of Trustees, or anyone in the administration.
1. You made this a political game: “Oh, the Republican governor has banned masks? Well, screw him.” Your goal, from the beginning, was to embarrass and cause political harm to Abbott NO MATTER WHAT harm it brought to AISD kids.
2. You wouldn’t look at data. It’s been clear for months that masking doesn’t affect transmission. (In fact, you can’t find a pro-mask study that hasn’t been torn apart for poor methodology.) Even for the kids, you didn’t look at data. (But you did spend big money on plexiglass.🙄)
3. And all the while you refused to look at data, you scolded the people who did do the research. Plenty of people in this community have known that masks are bunk, but how did Board of Trustees respond? Sanctimonious dismissal. In fact, this snotty twitter banner deserves to live in ignominy:
4. Once the CDC admitted that cloth masks don’t work, did ANYONE in AISD acknowledge how wrong you’d been? Of course not. AISD kids were forced to wear cloth masks for two school years: gross, soggy, chewed on, pulled up, pulled down, sneezed into, traded, dirty masks.
5. And remember this email from the beginning of the semester: “Don’t even ask — Wear a mask.” Translation: “Do you see injustice? WE DON’T CARE. Just shut up and do as you’re told.” The petty authoritarian who wrote this deserves to be fired.
6. Within that email, we’re told to take Dr. Walkes’s advice. You know, Dr. Walkes: the “Health Authority” who’s been a political mouthpiece for the city council since she was appointed. “Follow CDC guidance”—even though the CDC failed to update guidance since 2020.
7. And what was her advice? Have the kids wear N95 masks. Let me say that again: the Austin “Health Authority” recommended N95 masks for kids. And Austin ISD parents were told not to question it.
8. Don’t have an N95? Then both she and the AISD Director of Health Service thought it was reasonable—with NO evidence—to recommend kids DOUBLE MASK. Kids trying to learn to read. Kids trying to learn English. Kids trying to hear the teacher and their friends. Kids yearning to live normal lives. What should they do? Double mask. The stupidity just hurts.
9. Then there’s the hypocrisy. While kids were asked to wear N95s or double mask, the Superintendent, a Board member, and various central-office administrators were mingling and partying without masks. And district administrators posted it all over social media with no self-awareness that anything was wrong with this behavior.
10. And then when parents noticed the hypocrisy, you issued the lamest excuse: “we were following the rules of the facility.” Pathetic. If the rules are the only reason to wear a mask, then change the AISD rules to match everywhere else. Clearly none of you in these pictures are worried about catching or spreading covid. None of you believe masks must be worn. If you truly believed any of that, you would be in masks. But nope, mask mandates are for kids.
11. Through it all, not one person in the AISD administration stood up for AISD kids. While Eanes ISD and other suburbs rescinded mask mandates, not one champion of equity, not one voice for the voiceless (including anyone on AISD’s 6-person equity team) spoke up for AISD kids.
12. Then there’s that embarrassing survey sent to gauge the AISD community’s feeling about masks. There were no security measures on the survey, so anyone living anywhere could vote in the survey as many times they wanted.
13. AISD administrators still rely on the words of the Austin “Health Authority.” And she obliges with many, many (albeit incoherent) words. Somehow getting out of masks requires the community to “buy in to those things that we’ve all collectively agreed to do.” Yeah, the thing is we did NOT collectively agree.
14. Then on March 2, 2022, finally the Board rescinded the mask mandate. No acknowledgement of wrong doing, poor judgment, improperly relying on the political CDC, or promoting false information. No acknowledgment of keeping AISD kids in masks far longer than many other Austin districts.
15. And while there was no acknowledgement or apology, you did double-down on the lies. “The mask mandate worked”—This is just an assertion made contrary to all available evidence.
16. Even at the end, on the night the BOT rescinded the policy, it was still farce. Here’s Superintendent Elizalde sporting her oh-so-scientific N95 mask—with gaping mask gaps on each side. It’s all just security theater.
Most of these observations are about just the last two months. Always remember that AISD’s covid failures cover two years. All of these people had access to research that showed school closures and mask mandates do nothing to slow the spread of covid. All of these people had access to research that showed these policies do great harm to our most vulnerable children. But they failed to do the research. And all of them stayed quiet.
NOT ONE OF THEM RAISED A VOICE FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN OUR CITY.
NOT ONE.
Not one Trustee.
Not the Superintendent.
No one on the “equity team.”
No one pushing Social and Emotional Learning.
No one talking about Culturally Responsive Teaching.
The mask mandate was the most inequitable and immediately reversible policy.
But no one stood up.
There was no hero among them.