Mandate fuels new round of comments
Parents sound off on masks — and more
TOWAMENCIN » The mask rules are now in place, and parents are continuing to sound off about them.
Several North Penn School District parents continued to speak out both for and against rules requiring masks in schools during the first school board meeting since a statewide mask mandate went into effect.
“Just a reminder that there is a mask mandate here tonight, not just from North Penn, but also from the state,” said school board President Tina Stoll.
“Please note that if you do not wear a mask, you will be asked to leave. And if you do not leave when you are asked to, that will be considered disturbing a public meeting, and considered trespassing,” she said.
In late August the board voted unanimously to update the district’s health and safety plan to include a mask requirement, based on COVID transmission levels defined by the Montgomery County Office of Public Health. The district had reached the “substantial” transmission level, at which the plan calls for masks to be required indoors for both elementary and secondary students, and the district has since maintained that status.
While no formal action was taken Wednesday night on the
COVID plan, several parents spoke out on the mask topic, reiterating discussions over the past several months in favor of, and against, making students mask up in schools.
“Thank you for getting the kids back in school. I know the mask mandate was a very hot topic,” said Kunbi Rudnick of North Wales.
Her two daughters have been attending eighth grade and sixth respectively, she said, and being back in classrooms, even masked, has let them rekindle friendships, adding that other students may rely on being in school for meals, for an escape from poor treatment at home, and for teachers to offer guidance.
“Being back in person, and having some consistency, that’s very important to them and to us,” she said.
Toni Leidy asked if the board had made any preparations regarding Act 66 of 2021, signed by Governor Tom Wolf in June, which could allow students to repeat a year of education due to delays caused by COVID.
“Our students are asking for help, our teachers are asking for help, our parents are asking for help,” she said.
Toni Voce added similar concerns, citing numerous recent staffing changes particularly for students in the district’s post-12th-grade programs for those with disabilities.
“I feel like this program is becoming an afterthought to the district. Without question, this program
should be treated with as much importance as the many fine programs in North Penn,” she said.
Jason Lanier cited statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control on what he termed relatively low rates of casualties for school-age children from COVID.
“According to CDC, there’s been zero fatalities for kids, zero-to-17, in Pennsylvania since January 2020? Yet we’re putting these masks on kids,” he said.
“These masks serve no functional purpose. They are only to make you feel good, making you feel like you’re doing something. What I’m concerned about is, is it just a way to go from a mask mandate, to all-virtual (instruction), then as a solution, we’re going to say, ‘You’re required to get a vaccine to get back into school.’ I think that’s what you guys are planning to do.”
Yanni Lambros questioned a district policy regarding an exception to the mask mandate: “You require doctor’s notes to come in without a mask. Doctors can’t give notes, because the higher-ups won’t allow it, even though they personally agree. People are fighting back, and people will see you. You will be voted out,” he said.
Maurice Curtis asked if the board and residents were watching headlines from Australia, where COVID lockdowns have progressed several steps further than in America.
“This is bigger than just masks. This is bigger than just keeping people safe. Right now, this is a war against us, versus our freedom of speech, our rights,
our everything,” he said.
Samantha Ferry asked if teachers were being trained for virtual instruction in case COVID counts rise again and require a return to virtual learning in the fall or winter.
“We, as a community, must make sure our students are prepared for any possibility of gong virtual. In March of 2020, when the nation’s teachers were asked to teach virtually, they responded,” she said.
“But when this board voted to keep our students home last September, this board failed to provide what students actually need to be successful. And to prevent the academic gap from widening further, this mistake cannot be made again,” she said.
Vicki Flannery questioned the effectiveness of masks, and the vaccines, and asked about the statistics the board used to make their decisions on requiring them.
“Why are we only quarantining the unvaccinated? If vaccines are supposed to work, then why are we separating the vaccinated from the unvaccinated? If it is to protect the unvaccinated, shouldn’t the unvaccinated have a voice on whether they want to be protected?
“If the only thing that vaccines are good for, is to lower hospitalizations and death rates, then why push to vaccinate the population who has the lowest, very minimal, hospitalization and death rates, lower than the flu or pneumonia?” Flannery said.
After each parent spoke, Stoll asked that they replace their masks when seated in the audience, and several wore matching blue “Moms
for Liberty” t-shirts which read “We don’t co-parent with the government” on the reverse.
Erin Blanc said she felt it “unbelievable that decisions, health decisions, about my kids, are being made by non-medical professionals at this point. They don’t know my kids.”
Blanc added that her children “were scolded again” for unmasking while running during gym class, and said she had concerns about reduced oxygen intake, and possible exposures, caused by wearing the masks long term.
“No one has been able to provide me with evidence that shows that my young child wearing a mask, 35 hours a week, will not cause a medical problem, next year, in five years, or years to come,” she said.
Rosanne Gaad of Lansdale asked if the board is planning to require vaccinations, if they’ve begun planning for students and parents to decide to defy any vaccine mandate.
“Will those unvaccinated students be required to stay
at home? Will they be forced to have a lesser educational experience, compared to their fellow students, who are allowed to attend school in person?” she said.
“Finally, is the board taking any steps towards uniting the community, specifically the student body, after the effects of the segregated society which you are creating?” Gaad said.
Dana Blazo encouraged any parents who are denied a mask exemption for their student to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and to notify the board that they’d done so.
“Mandates are not laws. Any laws must pass through the house and the senate. Wolf’s orders ended in May 2021, when we the people ended it. The Department of Health gave the sole responsibly to the school boards. The boards are now responsible, so the members must listen to the constituents,” she said.
During the second round of public comment, after board committee reports and several action items,
parent Crystal Sackal added her thoughts on the impact COVID has had on mental health.
“It seems the next pandemic is now dehumanization. It seems we’re getting caught up, and getting angry, because neither side is listening anymore,” she said. “Now we’re becoming vaccinated versus unvaccinated, masked versus unmasked.”
“My daughter’s friends, that she became so close with, they can’t even see her, because I currently refuse to get a vaccine, because I don’t trust it yet. She’s lost such good friends, and that’s happening, I’m sure, to other children. I really would appreciate if people would turn off the television and remember that we’re all more than just our blue and red, or our Democrat and Republican, or our vaccinated and unvaccinated.”
North Penn’s school board next meets at 7 p.m. on Oct. 12 at the district Educational Services Center, 401 E. Hancock St. For more information visit www.NPenn.org.