Mask mandate sparks debate, police response at Penns Valley school board meeting
The school year has just barely begun for Centre County school districts, and one district is already facing issues with people refusing to follow masking requirements.
Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Alison Beam signed an order Tuesday requiring masks to be worn inside K-12 school buildings, early learning programs and child care providers. The order takes effect Sept. 7. But before that, Penns Valley Area School District implemented its own temporary universal masking order on Aug. 25 due to rising COVID-19 cases, Nate Althouse, Penns Valley’s community relations director, told the Centre Daily Times.
Though not up for discussion at the work session, the issue of masks drew people to Wednesday evening’s meeting. It was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., but because many people in attendance refused to comply with the district’s masking policy, the meeting didn’t start until nearly an hour later.
After Penns Valley Superintendent Brian Griffith asked several times for everyone to wear a mask and still few complied, state police at Rockview were called. Board President Darren Narber advised the more than 30 people at the meeting that they would not begin until all in attendance were wearing masks.
The meeting was stalled for 50 minutes while the group went back and forth with Narber about why they weren’t going to wear masks, citing “religious exemptions” and “philosophical exemptions,” among other reasons.
“You are not the dictator. We have rights. ... You’re violating my rights, and you’re violating my religious freedom, too, because I have that right as well and you’re taking it away, because you think you have a little bit of power,” Tim Rogers of Spring Mills said.
The district implemented universal masking after a pandemic planning committee — composed of administrators, school board members, teachers and medical and legal professionals — met on Aug. 23, Althouse wrote in an email.
“We did not have masking orders in place for the start of the fall sports pre-season. Whether or not it was related to our masking policy, we experienced a spike in COVID-positive cases in our extracurricular populations. We had three teams and our marching band miss significant time in their respective pre-seasons because of quarantines,” he said.
From Aug. 13-23, Penns Valley had confirmed 12 positive COVID-19 cases and not fewer than 107 close contacts, which far exceeded last year’s numbers at this same time, Griffith wrote in a letter to parents. In an email to the CDT Thursday, Griffith said the total number of COVID-19 positive cases from Aug. 13 through Sept. 1 is 27, with 155 close contacts.
Originally, the district was going to reevaluate the universal masking policy in mid-September, but with the secretary of health’s new order, Althouse said the district will comply with that until it is lifted. Then, they will reassess the COVID threat to the district and “identify the appropriate measures we need to take moving forward.”
The district’s policy, as outlined in a letter sent to parents, states masks are required indoors for everyone. Addressing those refusing to mask up during Wednesday’s meeting, Narber reminded attendees that the meeting could also be watched remotely.
“I know everybody wants to speak. I know everyone has an opinion. And I also know that we have a lot of people here for a lot of reasons other than masking. So because this meeting is virtual, for those of you that would prefer not to wear a mask right now, how about you leave and sit in your cars and conduct business that is non-mask related ...” he said, before being cut off by yelling from the public.
After a short recess for the administration to talk with two state police officers, Corporal Piper addressed the public. He suggested those who didn’t want to wear a mask sit in a back corner. Some called that “segregation,” which Piper refuted.
Ultimately, Piper said, “The ones who are wearing masks, if you’re comfortable with people not wearing masks around you, you guys are separated far enough, then so be it.”
The meeting began with the majority of those in the audience not wearing a mask.
In an email, Griffith told the CDT the police advised them that they could have removed individuals from the meeting for not complying with the local mask mandate.
“The board president, in consultation with other board members and the solicitor, chose to proceed with the meeting. We have business to conduct and a delay slows progress in the district,” Griffith wrote.
During public comment Wednesday, at least one parent said their child was sent home for not wearing a mask. Griffith told the CDT the district has several options for students without a mask, including providing them with a mask and attending class, attending the district’s cyber academy, or to have them attend school from a remote location within the classroom/building.
The last and hopefully avoidable option, Griffith wrote, is to send the student home.
“Under the order, philosophical objections or disagreeing with wearing a mask, are not considered valid excuses. Students who come to school and refuse to wear a mask without a medical exemption signed by a physician would be subject to the school’s disciplinary policy. We do not want to put children in the middle of this,” Griffith wrote. “As a school district, we want to work with parents, but we also realize individuals view masking differently and ALL students have a right to feel safe in their educational environment.”
As of Thursday morning, Penns Valley has had one student refusing to wear a mask, Griffith said.
Alicia Benner, of Centre Hall, told the board Wednesday that she was speaking on behalf of many community members who chose not to attend the meeting “for fear of their comments and concerns falling on deaf ears.”
“Our community consists of many hardworking people who are looking for community leaders for nothing more than openness, accountability and consistency. Revoking each family’s choice to send their child to school with or without a mask a mere six days before the start of school lacks those things and creates distrust,” Benner said.
Robert Zeigler, Millheim Borough Council president, spoke in favor of the mask policy. Though he hoped students wouldn’t have to wear masks, he said it was necessary when there were so many cases in a short amount of time, even before the school year started.
“When we have a group of people who are at risk, and in this case, it’s the kids that are 11 and under ... I don’t understand what we’re arguing or debating about, not taking preventative proactive measures to help minimize the risks,” Zeigler said.
Being divided as a community is not productive for the Penns Valley students, Griffith wrote in an email where he emphasized the importance of wearing masks.
“Last year we wore masks and were successful in having school and minimizing the spread within our schools,” he said. “This year, we tried operating our athletic/band programs without masks and we have multiple demonstrated examples of COVID-19 spread between members of these groups. ... None of us want to implement masking but it is necessary to keep our students in school and our doors open.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 4:45 PM.
