Anti-Maskers Shut Down San Ramon Valley Unified School Board Meeting

The steep rise in coronavirus infections hasn’t moved the needle for the anti-masking crowd. Protesters upset over face covering mandates in schools upended last week’s meeting of the San Ramon Valley Unified School Board — the board’s first in-person meeting since the pandemic. As a result, the board ended the meeting five minutes after it had begun.

Some parents who spoke to ABC 7 News put the blame on outside political agitators. While some parents have legitimate concerns about the impact of face coverings, masks remain a lightning rod for the far right and COVID-19 conspiracy movement.

The board was clearly not moved by the raucous display, nor was Superintendent John Malloy.

“We have always believed we should and will follow the requirements of public health officials," Malloy told ABC 7. "We have done that since this pandemic has begun. We understand our parents have very different perspectives. As much as we have these wonderful parents protesting, we are also hearing from parents that would like for us to be stricter with the requirements."