What if the number of people upset with the schedules was actually much larger (and more diverse), but only privileged families felt comfortable or justified protesting the schedule?
We can speculate all day about how people may have felt, but we just don't know. The district should have done polling to see what the overall reaction was before they pulled the plug. And if the counter-arguments amount to "I don't like change" then I think the district has a prerogative to optimize for health, safety, and costs.