Attendees at Thursday night’s Marysville School Board meeting listen as high school senior Kieran Mulligan voices his support for wearing masks in school. Several people on both sides of the mask issue spoke at the meeting, before the district approved a plan that would only require face coverings if individual buildings pass certain thresholds for transmission. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
As nearby districts reinstate mask mandates in the face of increasing COVID transmission in Ohio, a few dozen residents attended the Marysville School Board meeting Thursday night to see if district would be following suit.
The answer – maybe.
Those addressing the board were nearly evenly split among the pro- and anti-mask camps and the board’s decision on the issue targeted concerns from both sides.
The district’s plan, formulated through the work of a parental advisory board, will keep students mask-free for now with a close eye on transmission rates within each school. Whether students remain mask-free will be tied directly to the number of COVID cases relative to overall student and staff population in each building.
“We know that there’s not one single plan that will make everyone happy,” Superintendent Diane Allen said.
The essential idea behind the plan is that as long as less than 6% of a building population is impacted by the virus, masks will not be required. If a building climbs above 6% COVID-related absences, cases or quarantines, during any one-week period students and staff will be required to wear masks for 14 days.
If cases climb above 10% of the population in a building, the district would consider a return to the hybrid learning model for that school.
For comparison, the number of cases never climbed above 5% district-wide in Marysville last year. Allen did not know if any individual building experienced a period that would have climbed above 6% impact.
Numbers from last year are also difficult to compare because safety measures at that time were more stringent. Students were in a hybrid learning model for part of last year and were masked in school for the duration. This year, with students unmasked and in school, full-time from the outset, transmission rates could change.
Allen reported that from Aug. 8 through Thursday the district has four student cases of the virus and 10 quarantines, with an additional one case and two quarantines among staff. Those numbers put school rates well below the 6% threshold.
Board member Nan Savidge said she appreciated the plan’s flexibility. Amy Powers, a board member, added that she appreciated that decision making would be kept local, rather than relying on state recommendations. Member Dick Smith said he appreciated that the plan relied on local data in order to take action.
But, not all board members agreed, as reflected in the 4-1 vote on the matter.
“I think this plan is fatally flawed,” board member Brian Luke said.
Luke said triggering a mask mandate after cases spike in the schools is akin to putting on your seatbelt after an accident.
He said masks are proven to slow transmission of the virus and health experts across the country have recommended that they be worn in schools. Luke noted that last year the district pledged to rely on scientific authorities when making decisions.
“There is a consensus among public health experts that we should be masking,” Luke said.
Luke wasn’t alone in his reasoning. During public comment on the issue, remarks lobbed from the crowd were pointed, but the meeting never got completely out of hand.
“I know this is a very emotional topic for all of us… please, please be respectful,” board president Sue Devine said as the crowd interrupted a speaker.
Chad Green, parent of two elementary students, said unmasking when a new variant of the virus is surging does not make sense.
“I feel like as a district right now we are failing them (students) because we are not following science,” Green said.
He urged the board not to pander to a small but vocal group of parents while ignoring the experts.
“If we send our kids to science class, lets follow the science.”
Eddie McClelland said people across the country are being infected with COVID by unknowing, well-meaning acquaintances who would have benefited from masks. He said he understands people believe being forced to wear a mask infringes on their rights, but at one point in this country being able to smoke cigarettes in public was seen the same way.
High school senior Kieran Mulligan said there is a problem in Marysville over the politicization of mask wearing. He said masks are now seen as a sign of fear rather than a representation of compassion for other members of society.
He said local students are respectful and compassionate, and will do their part to stop the spread of the virus.
“We will wear masks if asked to wear them,” Mulligan said.
Opponents of masking were just as passionate.
“Masks are to show our compliance,” Gayle Williams said. “Nothing more.”
She said agencies collecting virus data are biased, seeking to keep the public living in fear.
“We have to take our health into our own hands,” Williams said.
Theresa Lent, mother of three and a pediatric nurse, said masks are a breeding ground for other contaminants, are not worn properly and are ineffective in stopping the spread of the virus.
“Masks are counterproductive,” she said.
Del Looney said there is only one path through dealing with the virus.
“It is not going to go away,” Looney said. “Herd immunity is the only that that is going to control it.”
Luke also urged parents to be mindful of how they address the topic of masks with their students. He said when children are put in the middle of passionate, politicized arguments it can lead to bullying over mask wearing.
“Please make sure that your kids don’t end up in the middle of the argument,” Luke said.
Devine agreed.
“Our kids are watching us and they’re looking to us to be role models,” she said.