The Ottawa County Department of Public Health sent a demand for all schools in Ottawa County to sign an “Attestation” letter. The email and a copy of the attestation can be seen below.

If a school administrator signs the attestation, they are declaring the following:

  1. I have enforced the Health Officer’s “Mask Mandate” to the best of my knowledge.
  2. I have consistently advised parents and teachers that the “Mask Mandate” is not optional and not a matter of “parental or personal choice.”
  3. I will remove (from school) any pre-K through 6th grade student who will not wear a mask.
  4. I have consistently corrected violations of the “Mask Mandate” among staff and students.

You can read the exact language of the Attestation below.

Did Health Officer Lisa Stefanovsky write this Attestation, or did Corporate Counsel Doug Van Essen?

Does this Attestation constitute a contractual code of conduct between the county and a school administrator?

What punishments are planned for schools that do not sign this Attestation?

What punishments are planned for schools that do not “consistently enforce the Mask Mandate” as ordered?

Why are some people in Ottawa County calling this a “pledge of fealty” to the county?

Why is a single, unelected person making decisions for the entire county, all schools, all parents, and all children – especially when zero (0) kids under the age of 19 have died in Ottawa County from Covid-19 in the last 18 months?

Is this how representative government is supposed to work?

Update, September 22, 2021: After backlash from schools and people in Ottawa County, it appears the Attestation form is now “voluntary” and will not be required to be turned in as originally required by the Ottawa County Department of Public Health. However, the Health Department may target schools that do not turn in the form for enforcement actions, such as fines, school closure, and threats.