The Post Millennial
By Libby Emmons
Even before the meeting began, the Board walked out in protest. So what did the parents do? They voted in a new school board on the spot, then voted to end mandatory masking in Vail Schools.
The school board in the town of Vail, Arizona, had implemented a mask mandate in public schools. Parents weren’t having it, so they showed up at the Vail School Board meeting to tell the board to make the masks optional. Even before the meeting began, the Board walked out in protest.
So what did the parents do? On Tuesday, they voted in a new school board on the spot, then voted to end mandatory masking in Vail Schools. Parents gathered outside the school board meeting to make their positions known.
An executive order from Governor Doug Ducey rescinded the requirement to wear face masks in schools, but the order also permitted “K-12 school districts and charter schools still maintain the right to institute and enforce policies to mitigate against COVID-19 spread, including the use of masks,” according to local news.
Vail was one of those school districts that decided to continue the mask mandate through the end of the school year, noting that they intended to discuss the plans. In response, parents showed up at the scheduled meeting to state their preference for the masking orders to be lifted.
With parents in the parking lot, carrying signs that read “unmask the kids,” the school board cancelled the meeting right before it was set to start. The cited “safety concerns.”
After the board cancelled the meeting, the parents demanded to speak with the board. Only a few were allowed to do so, while the rest crowded into the building. The Sheriff was called in. It didn’t quell the parents or their demands to free their kids from masking in schools.
One parent told local news that “These are my rights as a parent and they don’t get to decide how I raise them and what I believe is true and factual. It’s disgusting what’s being done and I don’t agree with it. I don’t. When you look at the flu, it also causes death. It also hurts people.”
The school district stated their claim that “about 90 percent of parents support the mask mandate for their kids.” A video of the aftermath of the School Board walk out show parents organizing and taking charge in a very orderly, if impassioned way. They figure out how many school board members are needed, and go about nominating, seconding, and confirming school board members who are eligible to serve, based on the Roberts Rule of Order.
Once the fifth school board member was elected, the brand new Vail School Board took up a meeting, and the first order of business was to do exactly what their predecessors had refused to doâmake masking optional.
One of the new board members, Anastasia, says “I motion that the entire Vail School District be free of mask policy and it will be optional to all teachers and students alike, with no fear of retribution.”
Amid cheering, the another board member seconds the motion, and it passes unanimously.
“Is there any other agenda items that you guys need to handle down here?” The man filming the proceedings asks.
“I motion that Vail School District has no rights to do any medical interventions on any child,” said another board member, clarifying that parents must be consulted in all cases. This, too, passed unanimously.
The new school board was pleased with its decision, as were the gathered parents. The motion against mandatory masking was made “effective immediately.”
But, “School officials say district leaders are working on a letter to send to all parents as a reminder that the mask mandate remains in place,” reported local news.
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