SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — As the school year approaches and coronavirus cases continue to climb, school districts are facing another year of difficult decisions, including a fierce debate on whether to require that students wear masks.
The mask debate boiled over at Shippensburg Area School District Wednesday evening, when hundreds of parents attended a school board meeting to protest the board’s decision to require masks this fall.
“I'm just really upset about it. It's my child, it's my decision if I want to put a mask on her,” said district parent Samantha Wright.
The mask question wasn’t on the agenda of the previous board meeting on Aug. 9, but the issue was still put up to a vote.
Parents said the vote should not have happened without public comment, so they showed up to voice their opinions at the Aug. 11 board meeting, originally scheduled to focus on unrelated district issues.
“We're asking that you listen to the voice of your constituents, and I think that voice rings pretty loudly tonight,” district parent Jason Nell said during the meeting.
“Please listen to us and listen to us about how this affects our kids mentally,” said Lea Donovan, another district parent.
State Rep. Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin) published a social media post encouraging parents to come to the Aug. 11 meeting, and said he was impressed by the turnout:
“I couldn't be more proud of the constituents I represent representing themselves before their local school board.”
High tension at the meeting, though, led to yelling and profanity.
“Health? Don't talk to me about health. Talk to me about education because that's what the hell you're here for,” said district parent Jeremy Stauffer.
Others threatened not to follow the mask mandate.
“What are you going to do when 1,000 kids show up without a mask?” asked district parent Darren Donovan. “Are you going to send them all home?”
At one point school board member Dwayne Burt stood up amid loud booing and walked out.
In the end the board voted to hold a special meeting to vote again on the mask mandate question. The meeting is scheduled to happen Monday, Aug. 16.