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San Luis Obispo mayor asks children to skip school and strike

March 13, 2019

Mayor Heidi Harmon

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

In her latest call for social activism, San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon posted on Instagram and Facebook an appeal to local students to skip class on Friday and participate in a global strike in which youth will demand action combating climate change. [Cal Coast Times]

“I stand with the next generation,” Harmon said in the social media post. “On Friday, March 15, students and youth from around San Luis Obispo will strike from school to demand real climate action. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., students, young people and supporters from an array of local organizations will rally outside the SLO County Board of Supervisors building.”

The demonstration taking place locally is expected to occur in conjunction with students striking in approximately 40 countries around the world, according to international media reports. The initiative was started by Swedish 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, who last year, skipped class and sat outside Sweden’s parliament with a hand-painted banner, kicking off the global school strike for climate movement, according to The Guardian.

Harmon’s social media post has been met with both praise and criticism. SLO Councilman Aaron Gomez came to Harmon’s defense on Facebook, saying the school strike is a student-led international movement.

However, critics have said it is irresponsible for Harmon to instruct students to skip school and that the San Luis Obispo mayor is using children to promote her political agenda.

When criticized for “encouraging kids to ditch school,” Harmon posted a link to an article reporting students in 40 countries will take place in the strike.

“The next generation understands that if we can’t solve climate crisis their education will be worthless anyway,” Harmon wrote on Facebook. “They are doing what they can because the adults have not done their job.”


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Bad Form Harmon, Bad Form! My responsibility to discuss with MY Youth, NOT YOU! NOT your Job! So does she think this will make her Cool with the kids or something?


22

Who else in human history used children when they have failed to convince adults?….everyone had better read up on this so called crises and stop listening to bumper sticker phrases like we only have 12 years to fix global warming….


19

This display of stupidity is as effective as them standing outside staring upward with their mouths wide open up during a down pour. If you all are so damn worried about C/C then go back inside the class room and come up with a solution. If the schools allow this to take place a class action law suit against the school boards needs to be started.


15

Ah, the “progressive” people’s republic of San Luis Obuspo. This woman is a piece of work. While Rome burns, pension shortfalls, infrastructure needs, affordable housing, homelessness, etc…needs that need to be addressed in a logical and timely manner, flower girl Is off playing activist.

What is wrong with her?


47

If the kids miss enough school they’ll end up being be as smart as Mayor Harmon.


43

What if she told kids to skip class and protest the war in Yemen? LOL fake leftists


21

How does this help me buy a home and have a family? This issue is something hand wringing bourgeois liberals waste everyone’s time with and no one is actually willing to do what would be necessary to stop climate change if were even good or possible to do.


19

California parents now face harsh penalties if their student is truant. Students between the ages of 6 and 18 are considered truant if they have:

•three unexcused absences and/or

•three tardies and/or

•three absences of more than 30 minutes


Big issues arise when a student is considered habitually truant, in which the student has missed school 6 or more times that year. Habitually truant students can lead to the school complaining to a district attorney for legal action. If the parent fails to compel their student to attend class, the parent may be responsible for up to a $500 fine. If deemed a contributor to their student’s delinquency, the fine can be hiked up to $2,500. One of the newest charges added to California’s Truancy Law is “chronic truancy”. In cases of chronic truancy, parents can be charged a fee of up to $2,000 and even face a year of jail time.


For older students, penalties can be higher fines, suspension of driving privileges, or even juvenile detention. Suspension of a license could raise insurance rates for parents and a juvenile record could be detrimental for a high school student’s chances of entering a reputable college or university. If you are a parent of a child charged with truancy


17

Heidi supports using kids as props for chicken little prophecies and condones truancy which affects school headcount funding. Plants love CO2. All animal species are more likely to starve if global temperatures go down as plants grow slower and trees stay dormant longer. Boycott CalFire control burns, plus China and India goods if you are against gross polluters.


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