HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.10.21 Board Correspondence - FW_ Draft Corning Subbasin GSP Public Comment Period Open through October 25, 2021
September 14, 2020
Supervisor Steve Lambert, Chairman
Supervisors Bill Connelly, Tami Ritter, Debra Lucero and Doug Teeter
Butte County Board of Supervisors
25 County Center Dr #205
Oroville, CA 95965
RE: 4.02.A COVID 19 Update by Public Health Department
Dear Butte County Supervisors,
On behalf of the members of the Butte County Farm Bureau, the farmers and ranchers in Butte County
and employees and the families of our agricultural community, we encourage you to empower the Butte
County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Bernstein, to expeditiously approve the numerous elementary
school waivers that have been submitted to Butte County Public Health.
On March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom ordered a shelter-in-place for the State of California. At the
same time, a handful of industries were identified as “essential” including the agriculture industry which
happens to be Butte County’s economic driver. Essential meant agriculture employers and employees
continued to work while others were sheltering in place.
According to the Butte County Ag Commissioner, 1 in every 5 Butte County residents works in
agriculture directly and many more indirectly. How are essential employees supposed to teach their kids
at home while continuing to provide for their families, especially during our most critical time of year in
agriculture - harvest? How is any working family supposed to work outside of the home, take care of
their kids at home, and help their kids navigate online learning?
The reality is two income households, who don’t have the luxury of working form home, are having to
choose who goes to work and who quits their job to stay home to make sure their children are online.
Further challenging the less than ideal distance learning concept, is the lack of reliable, consistent and
affordable internet service in our rural areas.
The only solution is to put kids back in their classrooms with their teachers. Harvard Medical School, the
Academy of American Pediatrics, and the US Centers for Disease Control have all said kids should be in
their classrooms and not learning from home. We ask you to please stand up to Sacramento’s
stranglehold on local control and do what is best for Butte County, our kids and our local economy.
Respectfully,
Lee Heringer
President
Butte County Farm Bureau