By AlaskaWatchman.com

Sitka Superintendent Frank Hauser issued an alert to parents this week, warning them of a plan in which some parents appeared intent on sending kids to area schools without face masks.

In an email to school families, Houser said the district had “learned that a group of individuals is planning disturbances in our schools on Tuesday, February 22.”

“The goal of these disturbances is unclear,” he said, while indicating that it has to do with the school district’s mask mandate.

He wondered aloud why people are making this move since the “SSD’s mask policy will be suspended no later than March 22.”

Houser’s email noted that the borough mask mandate sunsets on March 22, but could be rescinded earlier if the area falls below its “high alert level.”

He then claims that educators have “worked tirelessly to keep school open and students learning during this unprecedented time.”

Houser appears to criticize parents who are fed up with the mandatory masking of their children.

“Now, at this late date, it would be heartbreaking if anything or anyone attempted to do what COVID-19 could not and disrupt student learning in our schools,” he said.

Houser ends by warning that he has communicated with Sitka Police and local officials. 

As of publishing, it is unclear whether Houser’s concerns about “disturbances” ever materialized.

Sitka continues to maintain strict masking of teachers, students and staff despite the fact that the Omicron variant has proven extremely mild, and the second largest school district in Alaska – Mat-Su – has already ditched its mask mandates with no apparent problems. Anchorage, with the largest school district in the state – will follow suit on Feb. 28.

While no school age children in Alaska have died of Covid since the outbreak more than two years ago, the Sitka School District’s mask policy continues to require that all students cover their faces throughout the school day. The only exceptions are to eat and drink, during supervised unmasking “breaks” and while playing outdoors.

According to the Sitka Borough Covid dashboard, the past week has seen 28 community cases in an area with more than 8,000 residents.

TAKING ACTION

— Contact Sitka School Superintendent Frank Houser at (907) 747-8622.

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Sitka superintendent calls cops upon hearing of plan to unmask kids

Joel Davidson
Joel is Editor-in-Chief of the Alaska Watchman. Joel is an award winning journalist and has been reporting for over 24 years, He is a proud father of 8 children, and lives in Palmer, Alaska.


16 Comments

  • Steve Lankerd says:

    It’s time to run liberals out of Southeast Alaska… UNMASK the kids, let them live free….

    • james self says:

      It’s time to run all of them out of Alaska period .They come up here and bring the same crap they did lower in with them.

    • Proud Alaskan says:

      Agree

    • Sharon Alice Turner says:

      This ‘Houser Person’ must be a graduate of the Totalitarian school of the Oligarchy of the Collective. “he be’s an oligarch you and our kids and our tax dollars that pay this educated fool’s wages… need re-educating. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin “Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” Destroy the family, you destroy the country. The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstone of taxation and inflation.” This was they cry of Lenin, Kruschev, Castro, Hitler, just before they destroyed their country. If what you read, hear and see daily is what I quoted You are not crazy, but late to awaken. grandma

  • DoneWithIt says:

    Tyrants NEVER cede power voluntarily.
    Free Men have to TAKE it.
    Let Frank Hauser know your thoughts on him NOT following science.
    907-747-8622 Sitka School District Office

  • Elizabeth Henry says:

    Loony tunes. I would suggest all parents frustrated by this craziness pull their kids out of the brick and mortar Sitka schools and finish out the year home educating. If they feel the need to have the help of a publicly funded program then pick one outside of their district such as Raven or IDEA so the Sitka district feels the pain a bit. Sounds also like a new superintendent, one with actual common sense, may be in order.

  • Kenneth L. Wells says:

    “The goal of these disturbances is unclear”. Really? End mandatory masking seems pretty damned clear. How did this guy become a superintendent?

    • Opus says:

      How indeed did he become superintendent?
      Good example of the truism – “People get the sort of government that they deserve.”

  • S says:

    Ba ha ha. The cops?! For kids who don’t want to wear masks. Guy mentions there is a disturbance. Guy doesn’t realize it’s people like him disturbing the youth of our state and requiring they be masked. How disturbing indeed.

  • Steve P Peterson says:

    Imagine the disturbance if hundreds of kids just didn’t show up for a day or two (or more). Time to remind the schools that they are to serve the needs of children and families, not their own educational institution which is largely union controlled.

  • Steve says:

    Frank Hauser must think, since his staff is dumb ass stupid, all parents must be too.

  • AK Mom says:

    Good thing the cops know this is a civil issue and will likely refuse to have anything to do with it. Bravo to the parents fighting for their children’s rights. Keep it up!

  • DanO says:

    Would be nice to see a copy of any police report or dispatch conversation. This guy think covid is scheduled to magically disappear March 22 along w the restrictions? Does he have clue what masks are doing to the littlest kids? How do they learn spelling, pronunciation, etc with masks on?

  • NAV says:

    Hey Frank (the crab bait) Hauser your political career is over !

  • Jen says:

    Sitka it used to be a charming town. It was southeast’s shining gem by the sea. I went there in 2018, well its sparkling feature is still shining even that is becoming dull because of its churches are closing. As of any charm there was not the charm and joy i remember of my sitka. Sitka buried a lot of its elders, it buried its joy and charm with them.

  • Robert A Schenker says:

    I grew up in Southeast and remember the “old Sitka”. That Sitka that was a logging, fishing and pulp mill town. When the Pulp Mill was forced to close down, Uncle Ted, Frank the Bank and Don Young made sure that lots of Federal funded jobs were created in Sitka to offset the loss. The result? Sitka was invaded by greennies and lefties. Now you see the reaping of that harvest. Beware of taking help from politicians.