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It is clearly time for the anti-maskers and local school boards to both take a step back.
Two school board meetings were abruptly cancelled this week because a contingent of attendees refused to put on masks: Pittston Area and Crestwood. In both cases, the anti-maskers did more than simply sit in silence. At least one person at each meeting immediately approached the board and attempted to speak when the crowd was asked to mask up. In the case of Pittston, the man refused repeated requests by district solicitor Sam Falcone to give his name and place of residence, defiantly saying he would only do so when addressing the board during the meeting. Yet he was already addressing the board, out of turn.
In the Pittston Area crowd, laws were cited, conspiracy was mentioned, and lawsuits predicted. At Crestwood, Communism was alleged.
All of this unfolded in a week when the state mask mandate was not only struck down in court, a judge ordered the ban to be lifted Dec. 4, a full six weeks before the date Gov. Tom Wolf had promised to revert masking decisions to local districts.
Crestwood Solicitor Jack Dean said the agenda had included a vote on a revised safety plan making masks optional after the state mandate is lifted. It seems ironic that people refusing to wear masks prompted meeting adjournment without a vote on that (or any) agenda item.
It also seems to have been hasty for the Crestwood board to adjourn without at least a brief exchange with the anti-masker who stepped forward, or without a recess for the board to discuss ways to handle the protest. Is it possible accommodations could have been made to give the people refusing to wear masks a chance to speak?
Would letting them speak help? In Pittston Area, two anti-maskers did get some say. But their confrontational style was disruptive to board procedures, even if they insisted otherwise.
Let’s be clear:
1) mask mandates are not “Communism.” Full stop.
2) School Boards have great leeway in how they run their meetings, and defiance of those procedures is disruptive, regardless of how that defiance is shown.
If the two school boards had not been following their own protocols, maybe some push back could be justified. That was not the case. At both meetings, anti-maskers immediately ignored the rules not only about masks but about public comment.
The question for school boards is whether there are ways to accommodate anti-maskers so their voices can be heard without disrupting the flow of the meeting. Dean’s suggestion that Crestwood will likely hold a Zoom meeting seems a possible compromise.
The questions for anti-maskers seem more important: What’s the purpose of these disruptions? Would it be easier to wear a mask so you can actually follow the policies and have your say? Are you helping your cause, or hurting it? And once masking decisions are returned to the board, will you accept the decision by the duly elected, unpaid representatives even if they determine continuing full masking is the best way to keep schools open and protect all children?
One other point: If you are among those who prefer masking remain part of school until transmission rates drop, consider showing up at meetings. Let your voice be heard too.
It’s well past time for America to start shedding the “fight rather than cooperate” mentality seizing control of public conversations. The cancellation of two school board meetings shows the destructive nature of this tactic. We need to work together toward the same goal: all students in school five days a week.
Educating and protecting children should be an overwhelming force pushing us to common ground. That’s what everyone needs to work toward. These two incidents were textbook examples of the opposite.
— Times Leader