Columbus group says it’s ‘building an army of parents’ to oppose mandatory masks in schools
Barbara Skok, a Columbus mother of four children, is the founder of Moms Against Mandatory Masking, urging the Muscogee County School District to stop requiring students, employees and visitors to wear masks in all MCSD buildings.
“We’re not against optional masking,” she told the school board during its May 17 meeting. “That’s actually what we’re fighting for. If people want to wear a mask, they can, and we think they should. However, with vaccines being so great and abundant and readily available, I hope those who want to and need to get a vaccine.”
This month, the Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 12. Then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidance about wearing masks to lessen the spread of the coronavirus, saying fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask in outdoor crowds and in most indoors settings.
Skok, however, didn’t need the FDA and CDC announcements to advocate for optional masking. Last month, she started the group that has grown to about 50 members because of her experience, she told the Ledger-Enquirer.
The two youngest of her children are MCSD students. The third-grader developed bacterial infections on her face, caused by wearing a mask for so long in school, Skok said their pediatrician told her. That was frustrating, she said, but it isn’t the main reason she wants masks to be optional in school.
Her motivation, Skok said, comes from what she considers inconsistent federal guidelines during the pandemic and contradictory local implementation.
“First, we were told you don’t need any masks,” she said. “But everybody saw through that. … Either make it make sense or make it stop. Either make all kids wear N95 masks and all teachers wear N95 masks or the three-ply layer with the actual tight fit, … or they don’t really need to wear masks.”
As of last week, 56% of MCSD’s 31,259 students were attending classes in person, according to the district’s news release. Last month, superintendent David Lewis announced only students with an approved medical reason will be allowed an online option next school year. That’s why Skok chose to speak up now, she said.
“We are building an army of parents,” she said. “Our first issue is masks because it’s the one that was forced upon us. We weren’t given any choice.”
Mask standards
MCSD has required students, employees and visitors to wear masks since May 2020. After the CDC’s latest revised guidance, MCSD no longer requires masks to be worn outside on its campuses.
“We’ll make other future decisions based on the guidance we receive from the professionals and the experts,” Lewis said.
During this month’s board meeting, no parent spoke in favor of mandatory masks. A father joined Skok in speaking against the policy.
Joshua Brandt, who has a daughter in kindergarten, referenced the CDC’s guidance about how to determine whether a child should wear a mask:
- Use a mask correctly.
- Avoid frequent touching of the mask and their face.
- Limit sucking, drooling, or having excess saliva on the mask.
- Remove the mask without assistance.
“As a parent,” he said, “I can assure you that not all of these standards for proper wear can be guaranteed on any given day, which makes me question: If they can’t be worn properly, why are they being forced to wear them at all?”
The CDC’s science brief about the use of cloth masks to control the spread of the virus also known as SARS-CoV-2, says in its May 7 update that data “further demonstrate that mask wearing reduces new infections” and “the importance of mask fit to improve performance.”
Pamela Kirkland, spokeswoman for the state’s West Central Health District, told the L-E in an email that the Georgia Department of Public Health relies on guidance from the CDC.
“These are only guidelines,” she said. “Each state, municipality, school district and business is able to make their own determinations as to whether or not they choose to follow the guidelines, modify them or not use them at all. Governor Kemp has never issued a mask mandate for Georgia, and Mayor Henderson recently discontinued the local mandate.”
Brandt contends parents are in the best position to decide whether their children should wear a mask.
“Allow us to choose what’s best for our kids and our families,” he said. “We are all expected to assess our risks and step into the world each day. Denying parents the right to do what’s best for their families devalues our roles and responsibilities as parents and role models.”
Skok insists the input from parents should go beyond their children and should be included in developing the policy.
“We need to have a say,” she told the board. “We’re not just going to sit here and parrot everything everyone wants us to say. And so, yeah, we’re the odd man out here. We get it. We know, like, that’s just how that goes. But, if we’re going to be an educational and academic institution that just says, ‘Do as we say,’ rather than ask questions and ‘This is why we’re doing it, and this is who’s involved,’ then that’s not very educational or academic.”
Responding to the parents, Lewis said the policy is based on advice from the medical advisory panel he established last spring. The panel members listed on MCSD’s website include, along with Lewis, pediatric doctors, epidemiologists, legal and risk management experts, and other professionals.
“I’m very pleased with the way we responded as a district, and I appreciate very much the time given to our panel by the experts who are epidemiologists, pediatricians,” he said.
Other local districts
The Ledger-Enquirer asked officials in other local school districts whether and how the CDC’s revised guidance about wearing masks affects their policy.
Since the school year began, the Harris County School District has required masks to be worn indoors, on a bus and when social distancing isn’t possible outdoors. No changes have been made to that policy, and no changes are expected before the school year ends May 26, HCSD assistant superintendent for support services Shelia Baker said via email.
Among HCSD’s 5,548 students, 85% were attending in-person classes as of last week, according to the district’s news release.
Chattahoochee County began the school year with masks required on campus and in buses. After the CDC revised its mask guidance, ChattCo changed the policy to make masks optional for everyone.
“With over 80% of our employees vaccinated and the decrease in positive cases within the district, combined with the number of students whose families have indicated that the eligible children have received a vaccine, we are confident that revising our practices to align with CDC guidelines is the right decision for our schools,” ChattCo superintendent Kristie Brooks said via email.
Based on her observations, Brooks estimated 20% of students and 15% of employees still are wearing masks. Only 11% of students are attending classes online, down from the 37% virtually enrolled in September, she said.
Officials in the Phenix City, Russell County and Lee County school districts didn’t respond before publication.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
