Tanya Keith: Who will step up for my child who is too young to be vaccinated?
Since I wrote last week asking if Governor Reynolds would be willing to put kids’ well-being ahead of politics, I have seen a shift in the order of the universe. So many parents offered words of support, a group of women began organizing a “Safe at School Sit In” for next week, and I started the Facebook group “Iowans for Universal Masks In Schools.”
Iowans did such a great job reaching out to elected leaders that one called me today to ask if they could pass along my contact information to parents who have inundated their office with requests to end the ban on mask mandates. More than 650 people have joined the Facebook group In a little more than 24 hours.
That’s a good start for week 1, but yesterday my son reported that only about 20 percent of the kids at his high school orientation were wearing masks. I recently learned of COVID-19 outbreaks at two Metro Kids Des Moines Public Schools daycare facilities. These things are already happening and school doesn’t start for almost another three weeks.
There are signs that some Iowans grasp the seriousness of the Delta variant. The cities of Cedar Rapids and Des Moines are now requiring masks in all city offices.
While I am generally happy to hear about these baby steps, I also find them infuriating. City employees, who have had months to get vaccinated to protect themselves, now have additional protection at work, in line with Centers for Disease Control guidance. But who will step up for my child who is too young to be vaccinated?
Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders said in his press release, “As the Administrator of public facilities, we’re requiring masks inside those facilities because the trends are disturbing and we need to keep our employees and residents healthy and safe inside our buildings.” That is true, but our young kids deserve efforts to keep them healthy and safe even more. There are no vaccinations for them. Universal masking in city buildings helps, but as soon as those employees pick their kids up from school, they can be exposed.
Why aren’t business leaders raging about this? Last week President Joe Biden made COVID-19 long haulers eligible for federal disability benefits, which should sent a message to all business owners that their hiring struggles are only going to get worse. I would think that every business owner would have done the math by now: sick kids = absent workers.
Why are we not hearing more from corporate leaders (aka campaign donors) that allowing schools and day cares to go without universal masking is hurting business? It’s hurting my business. I own a small construction company and I need summer child care. I could only find care I considered safe enough for three weeks. Openings with care providers who were following CDC guidelines were hard to come by. In the past week, I have talked to so many parents who are unable to sleep because of the stress caused by impending school risk.
Absenteeism isn’t the only reason for business leaders to get behind universal masks in schools and child care facilities. Illinois announced a statewide universal mask mandate for schools and child care. Iowa needs to be able to retain workers and teachers in this very competitive labor market. If people can just move across the border to get protection for their children, many of them might.
The governor of Arkansas is trying to walk back restrictions on mask mandates, which he signed into law a few months ago. We do not want Iowa to be the last state standing with a law that endangers children.
When I moved to Iowa almost 30 years ago, we had great schools and a flourishing economy. I thought I would stay here forever. But not having a safe, well-funded public school for my children is a deal-breaker. If I am contemplating my future here, Iowa stands to lose more well educated professional taxpayers than it can afford to. We need to be smart about creating a worker friendly state. The first thing many would-be transplants ask is, “How are the schools?”
Yesterday I spoke during the public comments period of the Iowa Board of Education meeting. Katie Akin covered the event for Iowa Capital Dispatch and quoted Department of Education Director Ann Lebo as saying of the public speakers (all of whom were pro-mask), “Public comments are just public comments. In order for the board to have a conversation, we would have to identify that as an agenda item.”
Given that Iowa schools are starting again in just a few weeks, and the state’s largest school district has already seen two outbreaks in Metro Kids care centers, I guess we will have to add the Board of Education as a group that needs encouragement to expedite this issue to an agenda.
The lack of interest in even discussing this life and death issue says a lot about the priorities of Iowa Republicans. I messaged a fellow activist last night in a moment of sheer exhaustion “Do you see a way that Iowa protects our kids?” Her reply sums up life under GOP rule: “Kids or fetuses?”
We have to do more for our born children. We need to continue pressuring state officials from all possible angles to protect our children. We need to push Governor Kim Reynolds to undo the damage she has done. She could suspend the law banning school mask mandates as part of a public health disaster emergency proclamation.
Our school boards need to rearrange their thinking. No one can afford the liability of sending children into schools that flout the recommendations of the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics. Require masks in school buildings. If some parents don’t want their child to mask, let them be the ones to stay home and deal with virtual school. We send our children to school to be educated, and science is one of the subjects we expect proficiency in. Strongly encouraged vaccination and universal masking in all school and childcare facilities is the only way any of this makes sense.
Top photo by Tanya Keith published with permission.