Season’s Greetings! Alaska Legislator Suggests Masking in School Justifies Transition to Voucher System for K-12 Education
It's interesting that a sitting legislator, responsible for funding education and fixing fundamental issues like the broken teacher retirement system, and who purposefully funnels individuals to her political Facebook page when convenient, would tag Anchorage School Board members on her own personal Facebook account and accuse them of playing politics without any evidence or explanation.
That's precisely what happened earlier this week when Alaska Rep. Sara Rasmussen (R-Anchorage) found it necessary to include Anchorage School Board members Dave Donley, Andy Holleman, and Margo Bellamy in a Facebook post arguing that there was "absolutely no reason that masks should not be a choice for families in GOVERNMENT funded school districts anymore."
Rasmussen's post came just days after the Anchorage School Board voted to continue the district's mask policy until at least January 15, 2022. The board was forced to take unexpected action in an attempt to protect children and staff members from the coronavirus after school superintendent Dr. Deena Bishop suddenly and without notice to the board, announced that she was implementing a "parent-informed" mask policy when students return to classrooms next year. Bishop's announcement was met with outrage by parents and teachers who testified in response that her decision to lift the mask mandate in schools was "insanity."
"I have heard from many concerned constituents, and I have assured them that l will be working on this issue in the upcoming legislative session, specifically where state funds are concerned as a member of the House Finance Committee. I've been a STRONG advocate for forward funding our K-12 programs, but this forced masking can't go on forever," Rasmussen wrote.
That a sitting legislator would insinuate school funding could be linked to a mandated mask policy just before she heads to Juneau seems a remarkable comment for Rasmussen to have made, but she didn't stop there.
Rasmussen continued that individuals should make medical choices for themselves, writing that "if we aren't going to hand over the reins for individuals and families then it may be time for a much stronger push for school choice. Money will follow the student."
Republicans use the term "school choice" because people know what "vouchers" are and recognize they are generally unpopular. Most "school choice" programs will require a voucher, and practically speaking, in most programs, private schools obtain public support through voucher programs despite failing to protect the most vulnerable children from discrimination.
Later in the same post, Rasmussen wrote that she was going to send an email to each Anchorage school board member with goals for the upcoming legislative session and stated that Dunleavy cohort Bishop, who is believed to have future political ambitions, wasn't at all being political when she decided to end the district's mandated mask policy. Rather incredibly, Rasmussen, a member of the Republican party that has done more to politicize COVID, vaccines, mask-wearing, and dissuade Americans from taking steps to protect themselves and others against COVID, was somehow able to conclude that the school board's decision to extend the mandated mask policy was political.
Elsewhere in the post, Rasmussen wrote that it was "bullying to force children to wear a wet mask with snot all over their face for 6 hours a day." Rasmussen's statement appears to somewhat parallel comments made by Eagle River Assembly Person Jamie Allard, who said in August that she believed forcing children to wear masks in public schools was criminal abuse of children.
Perhaps not so surprising is that Rasmussen, like Allard, is a member of the Save Anchorage political operation. The group, of course, is where members routinely share information that has been debunked – such as masks being ineffective or unhealthy, and that reported data on COVID-19 case numbers and deaths due to COVID-19 are being falsified. Members of the group also share wild conspiracy theories about vaccines.
In October, Rasmussen posted an open question to the group: "If masks and vaccines work so well, why spend state dollars forcing every legislator and staff to test?" Attached to the post made to the group was the Legislative Council's COVID-19 mitigation policy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that COVID-19 vaccines effectively prevent infection, serious illness, and death and that most people who get COVID-19 are unvaccinated. While vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, some people who are fully vaccinated will still get COVID-19. Even if they do, symptoms tend to be less severe than in people who are unvaccinated — so yes, vaccines work well because if you're vaccinated and come down with a breakthrough case of COVID, there's less chance you'll be hospitalized and an unnecessary burden on Alaska health care workers.
If you're heading off to Facebook to find Rasmussen's thread, don't bother because she appears to have deleted it all. Happy holidays!
