School policies for health precautions should be based on scientific data for our area. In March of 2020, the decision to shut down school was handled in a similar way to this — without regard for local case numbers but based on emotion and following political trends. The board has now made the same mistake the state made then but in the other direction. Both decisions sacrifice the well-being of students and staff (and their extended families). Right now our county’s case numbers are still high and don’t even take into account the asymptomatic and home-tested cases. Since the holiday break, there has been a surge of cases among teachers and students causing staffing problems, interruptions in learning, and difficulty with meeting testing and grading requirements. Thankfully cases are dropping, but precautions should not be eliminated until this surge ends. 

Personal freedom and parental rights are important, but the right to stay healthy in a public school as a student or teacher has become less important than the right to keep your face uncovered. We would adamantly defend another family’s right to live (outside school) without any covid precautions, but there must be some safety measures so that their child can sit and learn beside another child whose family is taking precautions. In a public school, everyone makes a sacrifice so that there can be accommodations for some students’ needs. Shouldn’t maintaining health during high covid cases be handled the same way? There is a reason healthcare offices spend thousands on masks every year. We do not want masks forever, but our good results in slowing the spread with masking in school last year show it makes sense to keep wearing them now. 

We are also disappointed by the spirit of the discussion that night. Those who spoke against masks displayed a lack of respect in their tone and in their comments. There is no enforcement of masking at board meetings and people don’t respect the school policy or the clearly posted sign, so many with a differing viewpoint didn’t feel safe to go speak that night. It wasn’t until late in the discussion that speakers were reminded it is against the rules to mention specific people. Our health officials who are just trying to do their job to protect our community were ridiculed and disrespected. The board’s decision rejects the recommendations of the very professionals who are trained to ensure the health and safety of our community. Many speakers also made unfair accusations of what life in school is like with masks. Teachers have been giving mask breaks, providing outdoor unmasked time, and working creatively to solve the learning challenges that come with masks. The way the crowd was allowed to do and say what they wanted and the way the entire board stood and removed their masks after the vote made a clear statement to those watching.

The next day that tone was heard in students’ conversations. A middle-schooler was even thrown up against the wall by classmates, bullied, and mocked for continuing to wear a mask. Should we be surprised when the rhetoric the night before was repeatedly “Be a man!”? “Being a man” traditionally means protecting others, especially those weaker or more vulnerable. Many have inserted faith into the discussion, but the Bible is clear — love your neighbor and imitate Jesus by putting others before yourself (Philippians 2, not just when it’s comfortable or convenient). 

What does the tone of that meeting and the board’s decisions to remove safety in favor of comfort and convenience say to the child who has a medical condition or that lost a loved one to covid or that has a loved one with cancer or that simply doesn’t want to get sick and miss a sports game or social activity? When we look back at World War II Americans were willing to give up their metal, their rights to butter and sugar, and even willingly give their lives because they wanted to care for others. They taught their children the lesson that sacrificing their comfort for the protection of others is honorable. 

Finally, the quiet removal of the online covid dashboard during these policy changes shows that our leaders either don’t care or don’t want accountability or liability. The school board has removed masks, stopped contact tracing, shortened quarantines for positive cases, implemented a policy of masking for 5 days after that shorter quarantine which now can hardly be enforced, and removed the only way parents and staff can know how this disease and these policies are impacting each school and as a result their families every day. All while we are still trying to come out of a surge of cases. This is a violation of the public trust. Coincidentally Haywood County government’s covid dashboard has not updated the graph of cases by age in at least a month, so we cannot depend on it for data either. 

Our hope is that the board’s decision is not detrimental to our students’ learning, our tired healthcare workers, and our families. It is a small inconvenience to bear for those we love, so our family will still be wearing masks to school. 

Dr. and Mrs. Scott Oberg 

Waynesville