About 200 people showed up Tuesday night at the Vail School District’s governing board meeting to support ending a mandatory mask policy for staff, volunteers, and 13,500 students, but the meeting was cancelled when the crowd exceeded the building’s occupancy limit, and most attendees refused to abide by the district’s mask-wearing and social distancing policies.
In response, some in the crowd began a rallying cry to elect a new board, which was then undertaken right in the lobby of the Vail Education Center. Participants stated they were conducting the new election “per Robert’s Rules of Order” after which the “new board” voted to kill any mask mandate, much to the delight of the crowd.
Three attorneys told Arizona Daily Independent any such “election” was obviously only symbolic, as it violated Arizona’s open meeting laws and the state’s elections laws. However, many of the meeting attendees later shared videos of the event and described the vote as if they believed a true and lawful election had just occurred.
Public records show Pima County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the building before Tuesday’s 7 p.m. meeting start time due to the growing crowd. Attendees often shouted over the deputies, who were trying to get the group to leave once it was announced the meeting had been cancelled.
That is when someone in the group began accepting nominations for a replacement school board.
Meanwhile, rumors of similar plans for a larger than normal turnout for a Tanque Verde Unified School District board meeting on Wednesday prompted the postponement of that meeting after district officials conferred with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
“In light of the situation experienced by the Vail School District Governing Board at their board meeting (Tuesday) night, which included a large number of protesters who refused to comply with posted meeting protocols, we are concerned that we will be unable to conduct the meeting safely,” the Tanque Verde announcement read. “We will continue to work with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to ensure the safety of our community for any future meetings.”
According to Vail District officials, the five-member board had just completed a study session which started at 6 p.m. but never called its regular meeting to order due to issues with the size of the crowd. Cancellation of the meeting left several personnel matters up in the air, such as resignations, notices of retirement, employee contracts, and a request for a leave of absence.
In addition, the approval of nearly $4 million in district expenditures will have to await the next board meeting. A rescheduled date had not been posted to the district’s website or social media accounts as of press time.
The chaos inside and outside the Vail Education Center was captured by numerous cellphones as well as a Tucson area television news reporter. The majority of the crowd appeared to be parents, but a dozen or so adults have been identified as not living in the Vail District nor having students in any Vail schools.
Even if the Vail District wanted to grant the crowd’s wish about optional masks, such a decision would likely run afoul with Pima County’s current mask mandate. In addition, current CDC guidelines recommend all schools “should implement and layer prevention strategies and should prioritize universal and correct use of masks and physical distancing.”