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Concerned parent urges school closures as wildfire smoke affects students; trustees defend staying open
Summary
At the Sept. 10 Beaumont Unified board meeting a parent urged the district to consider closing schools if wildfire smoke worsens, citing coughing and asthma. Trustees said students breathe similar air at home and emphasized weighing community needs before making closure decisions.
A parent asked Beaumont Unified trustees on Sept. 10 to consider closing schools if smoke from a nearby wildfire worsens, saying students were coughing and some ate lunch outdoors amid visible ash.
"They are coughing; it is affecting their health," the parent said during public testimony, urging the district to use air-quality data and improve communication to families about closures and protective steps.
The board heard that Riverside University Health System had recommended consulting AirNow.gov for air-quality index guidance and that some parents wanted masks made available when students must be outdoors. Trustees and administrators said they are monitoring conditions and will send an update to families if the air quality changes.
At later board reports, Trustee Williamson said the district must consider how closures affect families who rely on schools for supervision and meals, noting many students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. "The students will be breathing the same air at school as they would be at their houses," she said while urging sensitivity to families who lack alternatives.
Trustees said decisions will balance student health, equity and community needs. The superintendent told the board staff would continue monitoring the wildfire and air-monitoring forecasts and will communicate decisions no later than the next day if conditions change.
The meeting did not produce a formal vote to close campuses; the board’s remarks framed closure as a contingency dependent on evolving air-quality data and public-health guidance.
