By Taylor Boyd
The Patrick County School Board had no choice but to walk back on its Aug. 9 decision to strongly recommend but not require masks in classrooms, following a Public Health Emergency Order issued Aug. 12.
The order announced Thursday by Gov. Ralph Northam mandates universal masking in all indoor settings in Virginia’s K-12 schools for those aged two and older, with exceptions for eating, drinking, or sleeping and was effective immediately.
Masks must be worn regardless of vaccination status, Schools Superintendent Dean Gilbert said. “Basically, the order covers indoor activities within schools. All persons aged two and older are required to wear a mask when indoors at public and private k-12 schools,” he said.
The order does not apply to outdoor activities, eating and drinking, exercising, playing a musical instrument within six feet of distance. Students that participate in a religious ritual or have a health condition or disability that prohibits wearing a mask are also exempt from following the mandate.
Gilbert said the school division has not yet finalized forms for religious ritual or health condition exemptions.
Students who are quarantined because of COVID-19 will have excused absences, and will receive instruction over virtual learning platforms for the duration of their quarantine.
Parents who do not want their kids to attend school wearing a mask are still eligible to apply for virtual learning. They should call the school their student attends to make the request.
Following the meeting, Brandon Simmons, board chairman, said he thinks school systems like Patrick called the state’s bluff.
Patrick County was one of about five counties in the state that chose to start the 2021-2022 school year off with masks optional.
“When you had us that chose to stand up and give our citizens and children choices,” Simmons said state officials “didn’t like that.”
“I’m still supporting my first vote that masks should be optional, and it should be up to the individual to make that decision,” Walter Scott, vice-chairman, said, noting concerns about the safety of constant mask-use, particularly for kids.
“You know, you find out 10 to 20 years from now that the fibers and things like that you breathe in,” are potentially harmful. “Who knows what they’re going to do to you,” he said, adding it’s been proven that COVID-19 does not really affect young people.
Amy Walker, of the Mayo River District, said she believes it should be a parent’s choice on whether their children wear masks to school.
Ryan Lawson, of the Peters Creek District, agreed.
Shannon Harrell, of the Blue Ridge District, said she wasn’t happy about the mandate.
“It was supposed to be left up to the localities. We’re elected officials and number one, we’re supposed to follow the law, but number two, is to listen to our constituents, that’s what we felt like we did when we left masks optional,” she said.
Harrell was referring to comments from parents and other stakeholders, some of which were heard during a called meeting before the school year got underway.
Among those addressing the board were Matthew Jones, who said he was speaking on behalf of the children who are unable to give their opinion.
“Children are being punished daily during school wearing these masks. Their future is being changed each day you distance them from each other. Each time they lose the chance to make a friend, but they are unsure because they can’t see them smile,” he said.
“These kids’ futures will forever be scared because you and us are too afraid to stand up for their innocent souls. Virginia is for lovers, and we should love our kids because they deserve a better live than this. Masks should be an option,” he said, crying.
Lacey Harbour said she believed masks should be optional. As a mother of three kids in Patrick schools, she said if the board did not make masks optional, she would likely pull them from the school system and send them to Trinity Christian School or continue to as she did last year.
“Children are more likely to die from drowning, vehicle accidents, homicide, cancer, cardiovascular disease, flu, and phenomena or suffocation than from COVID,” she said.
Harbour said there have also been zero deaths for ages zero to 29 in the West Piedmont Health District (WPHD) since March 2020.
“Also, there have only been 11 hospitalizations in those ages of zero to 19 in those areas as well,” she added.
Darlene Boyce also has three children in the school system.
“I also lost my husband last year,” she said of Lock Boyce. She said if one child’s life was saved by making the masks required, then it would be worth it.
Vicki Bennett, a 1978 graduate of Patrick County High School, said the mask mandate is a spiritual battle.
“This is all Satan. This virus is real just like any other virus, but what we have right now is Satan and his one-third of demonic angel that were cast out of heaven that is in your business and my business every day,” she said. “Satan has no authority over you and me anymore than what we allow him. But what we have right now is a government that is being ruled.”
Thomas Walker, of Stuart, said that while he believes masks should be optional, the board might consider requiring waivers, “in case there is a pandemic or a spread within the area. Where if your child gets it, it’s not on” other parents or the school system.
“I have an eight-year-old son, and I’d like for the masks to be an optional thing. I don’t think it’s really right for somebody to determine what my son has to wear on his face,” Glenn Clark, of Critz, said.
Ed Hartman said, “it’s a scientific fact that the virus is so much smaller than the pores in any mask. The idea is for the ones that are sick to keep the sick to himself.”
“These paper masks, they say on the box ‘Not for medical purposes. Only blocks dust, pollen, and smoke.’ COVID-19 is microscopic. It goes right through the masks, and they don’t work,” Brian Duppstadt said.
Jennifer Harbour noted a medical statement of an impending court case in northern Alabama, with defendants including the CDC and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who are being sued by frontline doctors for alleged unfounded assumptions about the infectiousness of asymptomatic persons.
“It appears that these defendants either did lie about asymptomatic spread or are very simply wrong about the science. The varying asymptomatic transmission used as the justification for the lockdown and masking of the healthy was held solely based upon mathematical modelling. This theory had no actual study participants and no peer review. The authors made the unfounded assumption that asymptomatic persons were 70 percent as infections as symptomatic persons,” she read.
In other matters, the board:
*Approved a consent agenda.
*Approved food service policy updates.
*Approved a budget amendment.
*Approved the personnel reports as amended.
*Approved the religious exemptions 2021-2022-01 and 2021-2022-002.
*Heard public comments against Critical Race Theory (CRT) and transgender bathrooms.
Scott did not attend the meeting.
