The Crawfordsville Community School Corp. board voted in a special meeting Wednesday to keep masks optional in school buildings for the upcoming year.
The 3-2 decision, with board president Steve McLaughlin casting the deciding vote, came after two hours of impassioned testimony from parents on both sides of the mask debate as local, state and federal health agencies urge universal masking in K-12 schools amid the surge of the highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19 among the unvaccinated.
Nearly 200 patrons filled the Crawfordsville Middle School cafeteria as the board considered whether to change the mask-optional policy in light of the new recommendations and the recent rise of local COVID-19 cases.
The district delayed the start of classes by four days to next Monday in order for the board to make a determination on safety protocols for the beginning of the school year. Masks remain mandatory on school buses under federal rules.
Supporters of the mask-optional policy said the decision whether to wear a face covering should rest with parents, not the school district.
Other parents urged the board to consider the social-emotional needs of children and some falsely claimed that children cannot transmit COVID-19. One parent was heckled for correctly stating that masks are effective in limiting the spread of the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Kylie McFarland, who was among nearly three dozen patrons addressing the board, said she was waiting for a decision on the mask policy before enrolling her children in school this year. She urged the board not to mandate face coverings.
“If God wanted my kids to have a mask, he would have created them with one on their face,” McFarland said.
Two Hose Elementary teachers, who support the mask-optional policy, spoke about the difficulties of teaching language to masked kindergarteners and first graders. An incoming high school junior and athlete said wearing a mask makes it difficult for him to concentrate in the classroom and that his teammates hadn’t been wearing masks during practices and workouts.
Advocates of universal masking called on the board to follow the data on COVID-19 transmission and heed the advice of public health experts.
“It’s a minor annoyance in service to a greater good,” parent Jim Cherry said. “It’s keeping our kids safe in a pandemic and that’s it — it’s not a political statement, it’s not living in fear, it’s not giving up your liberty, it’s not socialism. It’s wanting to get to the other side of this with my children’s lungs intact.”
“And in times of crisis it pays to be cautious because pandemics end, but the damage that they cause may endure,” he said.
Dr. Ryan Venis, who also spoke in favor of requiring masks, has treated COVID-19 patients as an emergency medicine physician.
“I feel for any young person today who may be interested in science or healthcare because what they’re witnessing is a society that disregards and disdains expert guidance and the scientific method,” Venis said.
Montgomery County is currently among more than 60 Indiana counties with high transmission of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The local positivity and incidence rates are higher than the state and surrounding counties, state health data show.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, children have accounted for 10% of local COVID-19 cases, said Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Scott Douglas, who addressed the board.
Across Indiana, a total of 824 children ages 5-19 have been hospitalized with the virus, Douglas said, citing state health data. Among children under 4, the number of hospitalizations is 227.
“[Children] do transmit this,” Douglas said, “and they also take it home to folks who might be vulnerable and even to folks who are vaccinated if they have an immunodeficiency-type problem or are susceptible to getting infected.”
He advised the board to require masks.
“From the public health perspective, a choice to not wear masks in school — to not require them — is making a choice to not follow public health recommendations,” Douglas said.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Bowling recommended maintaining the mask-optional policy but giving parents of children under 12 the option of distance learning, including on site for families without reliable internet access.
“When people are as divided on an issue as they are with this one, I think it’s best for the school corporation to give choices,” Bowling said.
Seeking to strike a balance on educational needs with public health considerations, Bowling said his recommendation was based on the “very small risk of serious illness” in students under 12 combined with the current policy that enables students to wear masks.
He added “the community would be relying on masking in this school alone when zero other mitigation strategies are being implemented in this community, or really statewide.”
Board member Susan Albrecht made a motion to begin the school year requiring masks in the elementary buildings and give sixth graders under the age of 12 the option of distance learning.
“It does matter to me personally that students 12 and over can choose to mask and choose to be vaccinated,” Albrecht said. “Right now with the current numbers, I’m OK keeping the existing optional policy for that group of students who have those two choices for protection, but I feel a duty to those that lack that.”
Member Ellen Ball joined Albrecht in supporting the motion, citing the current case numbers. Members Kathy Brown and Kent Minnette voted to uphold the current policy, with McLaughlin casting the deciding vote.
Minnette noted that masks have not been mandated in school by the state and federal government, saying medical-related decisions should be left to families.
“Our health officials are smart people. It’s their jobs to make recommendations, but they’re asking the wrong five folks,” Minnette said, adding that parents are capable of making the decision.
