Board approved remote meetings going forward 

TEMPLETON —Templeton Unified School District (TUSD) held a regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 6:15 p.m. The meeting began with pulling item 12.3, which was a report on class sizes, and the order of business was approved otherwise.

The report on closed session stated there was a motion by Trustee Nelson Yamagata and second by Trustee Ted Dubost to approve denial of inter-district transfer D2122-6, D2122-, D22-08, approved 5-0.

Public comment focused on the vaccine mandate and parents who are against the mandate and would pull their children from the school if it were mandated. The topic of the Statewide Walk-out scheduled for Monday, Oct. 18, was brought up with the hope from the parent that the school would support and acknowledge that this is not about pro or anti-vaccine, but rather about letting parents choose for their children. The board was asked what their response to the walk-out would be and if there would be punishments for those who participated.

After public comment, the board addressed the issue of the walk-out and that normal attendance rules and absent policies would be in place and that there would not be Saturday school for students who had not missed the normal number of classes to require it. The board stated that student safety is always the number one concern but that the school would not try to hold kids in class against their will. The school wants students in school for the sake of their learning, and normal procedures would be in place. If a school employee reported to work and walked out, it would be a different situation as students are in their care and cannot be left unattended. If an employee chooses to use a leave day and participate, it is not for the district to concern themselves with what they do with their time off.

TUSD then moved on to approve the remote meetings as outlined in AB361, which would require the reiteration of the need to have remote meetings every 30 days.

Next, the board covered the new program they will be using to post agendas, record meeting minutes and notes for each board member. This program is similar to what SLO county schools are using, and the Paso Robles district uses the same program with an older version.

The motion to approve the consent agenda passed 5-0.

The next meeting of the TUSD Board is Oct. 28 at 6:15 p.m., and the meeting agenda will be posted on the school’s website prior to the meeting.