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Superintendent urges calm after border fires; callers push for clearer absence and student-safety policies
Summary
Superintendent Moises Aguirre thanked first responders after recent brush fires, urged schools to be places where students "feel safe and welcome," and said district protocols are in place; public commenters urged clearer closure and absence policies and asked the board to state protections for students facing federal immigration enforcement.
Superintendent Moises Aguirre opened the Jan. 27 meeting with reflections on the recent border-area brush fires and on district efforts to keep students safe. He thanked firefighters and first responders and said the district had put protocols in place so administrators know "what to do, and how to keep our students from being caught up in those situations." He added, "we are resolute in ensuring that each and every student feels safe and welcome in our schools."
In public comment several speakers pressed the board for clearer policies. Joseph Everos questioned why some nearby campuses were kept open while others were closed during the fires and urged the district to treat absences for safety concerns as excused, noting families whose children missed school during heavy smoke should not be penalized. Everos said some schools had been closed while others within a few miles remained open and asked the district to "rectify that all these absences" and consider removing attendance penalties for students kept home because of hazardous air quality.
Other speakers asked the board to make a public statement shielding students from immigration enforcement. Volunteer and community members said other districts had issued statements promising to protect students from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action; they called Sweetwater's silence "deafening" and urged the board to declare schools safe spaces. Thomas Flores said, "Students deserve to know schools will always be their safe place. Please remedy this if it hasn't been remedied yet." Counselors' representatives told the board they are seeing increases in students' stress and anxiety tied to immigration enforcement concerns.
Student Board Representative Liliana Davis reported districtwide work: a successful voter-registration drive with about 1,400 students registered across the district, plans for a student survey on bathroom conditions, and recent CPR training at high schools. Davis thanked staff and administrators for work to reopen schools after the fires and noted progress at some campuses on bathroom access during lunch and class change.
The board said it would look into how absences tied to the fires and hazardous air quality would be handled and that staff would review parents' concerns. No formal action was taken at the meeting beyond directing staff to follow up.
Ending: The board heard multiple requests for clearer emergency closure, absence and student-protection policies and asked staff to review attendance treatment and communication protocols; the superintendent said protocols were in place and urged community dialogue.
