Dozens protest against Coshocton City Schools’ mask mandate
COSHOCTON – About 25 people stood with signs Monday morning at the main entrance to Coshocton City Schools to protest a facial covering requirement passed by the board of education on Thursday.
Coshocton City Schools Board of Education at its regular meeting voted to make masks required for all students, staff and visitors in all buildings during school hours. Originally, masks were going to be by choice. Ridgewood, River View and the Coshocton County Career Center have stated that masks and desk dividers will be optional.
Superintendent David Hire following the board meeting said the change was made because the board believed wearing masks gives students the best chance to remain in school and keep everyone as safe as possible, especially as most students aren’t vaccinated. The policy would be revisited at the Oct. 21 board meeting.
A petition started Friday on change.org by Christopher Brown had 1,542 signatures by 8 a.m. Monday and plans were made via social media platforms over the weekend for a peaceful antimask protest on or near school grounds for Monday, the first day of school. Brown said signatures and online comments were sent to the administration.
The petition read that the change gave “parents no time to make plans for remote learning, home schooling or to transfer to another school district. The school board decided this while parents and teachers were occupied with open house and orientations, giving them no opportunity to share their opinions.”
Brown said he’s proud of the community and more people were standing up against the board decision than he thought. His original hope was for about 500 signatures. Brown met with Hire Friday prior to starting the petition where he voiced his concerns, including the timing of the board meeting.
At about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, an all-call was put out to parents and a statement was posted on the district’s website from Hire. It said there would be a twoweek grace period for the mask requirement, running until after Labor Day. Masks would still be required on buses per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines as previously announced.
“Masks will be strongly encouraged and parents who want their children to wear masks will have their request honored. We recognize that there are concerns and confusion resulting from the timing of the board action, forms provided at the open house giving parents an option, as well as the difficulty of wearing masks indoors without air conditioning at the high school,” Hire said in the statement.
He also said they were aware of the protest being planned and while they didn’t anticipate it to interfere with students and staff entering buildings, deputies from the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office would still be on site to ensure staff and student safety.
“While we believe that everyone has a right to free speech, we also believe that our staff and students have the right to arrive at school feeling safe and secure,” Hire said in the statement.
Two cruisers Monday morning were parked at Coshocton Elementary School. Brown said a deputy told them to keep the sidewalk clear for student walkers, but no resistance. He said many vehicles that drove by honked horns and waved in support.
“We’re going to respect traffic and private property. We’re not here to cause any issues,” Brown said.
Brown has kids in fourth, seventh and tenth grades. While no other protests were planned, he said he planned to keep on the district about making masks optional for the remainder of the school year. If that doesn’t change by the time the grace period is up, Brown said he would homeschool his children.
“It’s going to be challenging at first, but my wife and I will work together on it,” Brown said of possible home schooling.
Hire said the protest went well from the administration’s perspective as it didn’t interrupt staff and students arriving for the first day of school. He certainly supports people voicing their opinion on district decisions.
“We live in a great country and everybody has the right to free speech. I think the demonstration, the protest this morning, was handled very well by those who were involved in it expressing their opinion,” he said.
On July 26, Gov. Mike Dewine and the Ohio Department of Health made announcements regarding public schools in the state for the coming year. Local districts then set their own policies.
Dewine said there would be no mask mandate for unvaccinated students and staff. The decision would be left in the hands of districts and parents, but he did advise everyone to get vaccinated and those who weren’t to wear masks for their own safety and others.
That is standing at this time, although the CDC has recommended mask mandates for schools as COVID-19 infection rates are on the rise again, primarily related to the delta variant.
As of Monday morning, ODH had Coshocton County with 89 positive cases, eight hospitalizations and one death in the past two weeks. Vaccination rate for the county was at 34.28%, or 12,547 residents. The state rate is 51.22%, or close to 6 million people. llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com @llhayhurst 740-295-3417