Monte Vista requests exception for vaccine requirement at prom venue

Following unexpected news that the Oakland facility hosting Monte Vista High School’s junior prom would now require that all attendees be vaccinated under a new city requirement, the Danville school’s principal is asking officials to consider a proposal that would accommodate unvaccinated students.

The school dance is set to be held at the Scottish Rite Center in Oakland on Feb. 12, shortly after a citywide ordinance requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for attendees at indoor events went into effect this Tuesday. Oakland officials announced the new rules on Dec. 21.

Ilana Israel Samuels, director of communications at the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, said that district and Monte Vista officials weren’t aware of the new Oakland requirement until the following month, when they were notified by the venue.

“We found out on January 18th from the Scottish Rite Center that they were unfortunately going to have to change the parameters of who could attend the February 12th Prom, as they were required to now follow updated health guidelines that attendees at indoor events must be vaccinated or have a medical exemption and negative test,” Samuels told DanvilleSanRamon.com

The school community was notified of the change in an email on Jan. 20, Samuels said, followed by a Jan. 25 email from Monte Vista principal Kevin Ahern, which provided further details about the medical exemption.

Prom tickets, which are non-refundable and non-transferrable, went on sale on Jan. 21, the day after the original SRVUSD announcement, with the registration page also notifying students and parents of the updated vaccine requirement.

Samuels said that while officials had tried to reschedule the event for a later date, in hopes that the Oakland ordinance would no longer be in effect by then, they’d found that the venue was fully booked every Friday and Saturday through August. In addition, she said that there was no time to find an alternative venue that would feel worthy of the occasion to students on such short notice.

“The only possible option would have been having it in our high school gym, which many students do not want, and it would then have resulted in a second year in a row having to pull out from our commitment to the Scottish Rite Center,” Samuels said.

In his proposal to the Oakland City Administrator’s Office on Jan. 28, Ahern said that while a majority of students in the district were vaccinated, the idea of missing prom had been difficult for students who hadn’t received the COVID-19 vaccination, as well as tough for their families.

He also noted that students attending junior prom are minors “who might not have control over the decision of whether to get vaccinated or not,” and that other high schools could likely find themselves in the same difficult predicament under the city’s current ordinance.

In addition, given the short notice of the announcement, students who would want to get vaccinated in time to attend prom wouldn’t have time to, the principal argued.

Ahern requested that the city of Oakland consider allowing high schools that lease indoor-only venues for proms to instead be bound by Alameda County guidelines, which allow a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination for attendees at indoor events. He added that if this were allowed, school and district officials would organize testing for students, with proof of vaccination still being required for guests of students and all adult workers and volunteers.

Samuels said that while there is no alternative being provided for unvaccinated Monte Vista students to celebrate junior prom, district officials are hoping that Ahern’s proposal will be accepted so that the event will be open to all juniors, as planned.

“We sincerely hope that prior to February 12th, the City of Oakland may change their ordinance, as we know this is disappointing for some of our families,” Samuels said. “If things shift, we will immediately notify our community.”