Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. heard more comments Monday from parents and citizens opposed to having students and teachers wearing masks in the classroom.
About 15 individuals spoke at Monday’s board meeting during the time for public comment, and most expressed their displeasure with BCSC’s mask mandate. This included two students who took the mic.
A number of speakers took off their masks to speak, and some individuals chose not to wear them even while seated during Monday’s school board meeting.
Concerns expressed included physical, mental and emotional effects of mask-wearing; communication challenges; mask efficacy; COVID test efficacy; and the level of risk COVID presents to children. Some provided statistics that supported their point of view and claimed that certain sources were providing misinformation or misleading data.
Patrick Edwards accused nurses and doctors who spoke at recent board meetings about masks of “lying through omission, through semantics.”
Eric Grow expressed displeasure about how the board’s Aug. 9 meeting went, saying the board did not listen to people who spoke at the meeting.
“Then, a bunch of people in scrubs were let in the doors after they were closed for others,” he said. “That’s foul play. And surprise, they all spoke to present one side. Manipulative. There are medical professionals that support other conclusions from what you had pushed that night.”
The school board made the decision and “pawned the responsibility off on medical professionals,” Grow said.
Sixth grader Nolyn Burton said that the decisions made by the school board affect his future.
“I don’t like the choices that have been made for me recently,” he said. “… I would prefer that the choices be left to the ones currently being mandated, us children.”
Public comments came after a COVID-19 update from Superintendent Jim Roberts. He reported that since the beginning of the new school year through the end of Aug. 23, there have been 107 positive test cases (94 students, 13 staff).
He compared it to the number of cases — 106 — that faced the school corporation last November as it moved to eLearning. At the time, the breakdown was 70 students cases and 36 staff cases since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.
“The major difference in these numbers and our decision last year is staff,” Roberts said. “Because if you recall, when we made the decision to go to eLearning, it was driven more by our inability to staff buses and classrooms because of the number of people that we had out.”
Those absences included both positive cases and close contacts. He added there are also fewer staff having to quarantine currently, as this is not required for vaccinated individuals without symptoms.
Though much of the night’s public discourse centered on the pandemic, comments were not solely directed at health issues.
While discussing the mask issue, speakers also made accusations at the board regarding what they viewed to be encroachment of constitutional rights, as well as a lack of transparency and representation from the school board. Some also claimed that the board had made the decision to resume masking for political and not scientific reasons.
Parent Robert Contratto called on the board to rescind the mask mandate immediately and said that any board member who opposed such a motion should resign.
If this does not happen, people will file their taxes under protest and “file litigation against the school board,” he said.
“I would hate to see BCSC lose funding for all of the children in this community that is withdrawn before the middle of September because our freedom and our choice, and we’re being silenced,” said parent Chandra Williams.
Jonathan Abbott argued that people have the right to not wear a mask. He cited Indiana Code 10-14-3-23, which states that the chapter on emergency management and disaster law cannot be used to compel an adult or their child “to submit to any physical examination, medical treatment, or immunization if the person, parent, or guardian relies in good faith on spiritual means or prayer to prevent or cure disease or suffering and objects to the treatment in writing.”
He said that parents should therefore be able to turn in statements that indicate that they don’t want their children in masks due to religious beliefs.
At the meeting’s end, board members thanked individuals for sharing their comments.
“As unpleasant as disagreement can be, I do sincerely believe that healthy civil discourse is certainly a very important part of any well-functioning society,” said board member Todd Grimes. “And obviously, we’ve gotten to the point where there is no shortage of what I hope continues to remain healthy and civil discourse.”
Board member Julie Bilz said that while people can show data and research on both sides, she cast her vote for wearing masks based on local numbers and advice of medical professionals.
“Our mission is to keep all children safe,” she said. “…I voted with my conscience and the facts as I understand them. And it’s the same reason, about a year ago, I voted not to open school because I thought that the rates were too high to open.”
In wrapping up her comments, Bilz said she’s sorry to those who disagree, but she hopes her words cast more light on why she voted the way she did. At that, a member of the audience asked if she was giving a resignation statement.
Other attendees began to speak out as well, asserting their views and talking about their right to free speech. Board president Jill Shedd called for order.
Bilz then added that the public, regardless of their views, is welcome to email her.
“We do continue to listen to all of the advice we’re given, both your opinions, the advice that we’re getting from our community task force, from our health care community as well as the state and the federal government,” Shedd said.
Aside from speaking at board meetings, opponents of BCSC’s mask mandate have also taken to protesting in recent weeks, first at the administration building and later at city hall. Another protest at city hall is planned for Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Even once the mask mandate and pandemic subside, it is possible that school board meetings may continue to be forums for discussion about other controversial issues, Grow said.
Individuals should speak up before the “fight” moves to issues that they consider to be more serious, Grow said.
“It only just so happens that this fight is manifesting itself on the hill of mask mandates,” he said. “But if we don’t push back, this fight will continue to move from hill to hill to hill. … If this fight is allowed to continue, it will be fought on hills like critical race theory, vaccine mandates, genderfluidity, oversexualization and many more.”
