rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
TROY — Troy Area School District’s board of education voted for a mask mandate at last night’s special meeting.
The meeting took place at the high school gym and was packed with concerned parents on what the school year will hold for their children.
All of the board members voted in favor of the mask mandate except board member Dan Martin.
“I understand that the school is trying to be proactive. That being said, as an American and as a parent, I feel as if it’s my right and my choice for my children. The school is supposed to handle the education their well-being and their health is my responsibility and my choice,” said parent Christopher O’Connor.
The board meeting lasted about an hour and a half. “They took comments three minutes each for people who were pro-masks for a mandate,” said O’Connor. “The rest of the hour and a half was parents expressing their concerns not to ban them, but just allow us to choose for our own children. There were parents that brought facts, there were parents that talked about their children that are special needs that need to be able to see faces to be able to communicate.”
Allen Weddington of Gillett has three students in the district this year, with one starting kindergarten and worries about his child’s first year having to wear a mask.
“Wolf did say he would leave it up to the schools. Troy said last week they were going to let the parents decide. My question is where did they get the guidance come from to make this change all of a sudden with kids wearing masks. I feel like it’s unfair, especially for younger students. This is some children's first time in school and they have to wear a mask, I feel they need to withdraw their vote and leave it up to the parents. If not, I feel like a lot of parents will be pulling their children out of school, or there will be a protest outside of the schools,. It’s unfair that kids should have to wear masks. Especially during PE and going out to recess,” said Weddington.
The following morning, Superintendent Dr. Eric Stair released a statement on why the decision was made.
“Based on recommendations from the CDC, DOH and our local health officials within our community, along with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Troy Area school district will require all students and bus drivers (when present on the bus) to wear face coverings to and from school and to all athletic/extracurricular events, and field trips.
The district will require that all students, visitors, and staff wear masks as recommended by CDC and DOH while inside the school buildings to include indoor sports and extra-curricular activities.
As a district we are concerned about the safety and welfare of our students, faculty, and staff. We are concerned with spreading the COVID illness and concerned with keeping our schools open. We want our students to be safe and remain in school 5-days per week in the classroom with their teachers,” said Stair in the message.
Stair said the board’s decision is based off of what the Center for Disease Control has recommended for this school year.
“When having to conduct close contact tracing in the school, the CDC has made it clear that when students are wearing masks appropriately, the students would not be considered close contacts and would not have to be excluded from school.
For these reasons we feel the safest way to protect everyone in the school given the current COVID pandemic, is to require everyone to wear masks while on the bus and while inside the school buildings to include indoor sports and extra-curricular activities.”
Stair concluded his message by stating that there will be warnings as to when and how the school district will enforce masking.
For the first offense, a parent will be called and reminded that the student is required to wear a mask in school as per the health and safety plan. In order for the student to not wear the mask, they need a 504 plan with medical documentation. To get this document, Stair said parents may contact the support services department to inquire about a 504 plan.
The second offense is a parent phone call and a letter sent home to the parent. If parents are aware that the student continues to not wear a mask, the student will be placed into the Troy Virtual Academy. A parent letter will be sent home to include information about this.
“I feel as if you want to wear a mask and you want your children to wear masks that is your right but it’s also my right if I don’t want my children to wear a mask,” said O’Connor.
O’Connor continued “I’m speaking as a parent and as an individual who lives in Troy and as Vice President of Troy Borough Council and after seeing the majority of the school board completely disregard the people that voted for them into their positions, I am seriously contemplating stepping down from council and running for school board.”
On Facebook, a group called “Troy Area School District Parents Against Mask Requirement” has formed with more than 200 members. The group calls for the district’s board members to be replaced in the upcoming election, where allegedly five of them are running unopposed.
Rennie Tran just moved to Gillett and has a child in the district.
“I’m not only disappointed, but I am disgusted. It was clear they had their minds made up before parents arrived to the meeting. Surrounding school districts are not requiring masks and I think we need to follow that example. I think we as parents should not be silenced on this matter,” said Trans.
The Troy Area School District returns to school tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 27.