Ahead of school mask mandate decision, public sounds off to Beaufort Co. Board of Ed
Beaufort County’s school board hadn’t planned to hear from the public about masks Wednesday night, having scheduled a time Monday for public comment. But members agreed to listen after about 20 people showed up to speak against a mask requirement.
So Wednesday evening, a day after the board postponed a vote to mandate masks for students and staff until it could receive “legal and public health advice,” member Tricia Fidrych moved, and the board voted 8-0-1, to allow comments.
Only one of the 14 people commenting Wednesday favored a mask mandate. That might be due in part to the board having said it would not schedule time at that meeting to hear from the public.
Several parents threatened to sue the district or withdraw their children from public schools if masks were required, saying that masks had hurt their children’s mental health and ability to learn.
Others worried about children wearing masks on hot school buses and referenced the South Carolina legislature’s budget proviso that says any school or district that requires masks for students or staff will lose state funding.
“We are not sheep, we do not want to follow and be dictated to as to what we should do for our children,” one commenter said. “When you mask these children, you strip away their dignity, you strip away their happiness.”
At various points, the crowd spoke and yelled over commenters, especially the lone commenter supporting a mask mandate. But overall, the scene was much calmer than it had been Tuesday at Hilton Head Town Council’s meeting, which was adjourned early after anti-mask protesters called councilmembers “Nazis” and approached the dais to argue with Mayor John McCann over the course of two hours.
The school board has scheduled a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. Monday to discuss a mask mandate. If it’s not virtual, it will likely be held at 2900 Mink Point Blvd., the district’s headquarters in Burton.
Board chairperson Christina Gwozdz said Wednesday that the Monday meeting will include a public comment session. She added that the school board does not know which legal and public health advisers will be there Monday — “It’s a question of who’s available,” she said.
A statewide debate
Wednesday’s debate over mask mandates was one of several that have popped up across the state.
Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Thursday that he is suing the city of Columbia for its ordinance mandating that students and faculty wear masks in some schools.
Richland One and Charleston County School District have both implemented mask mandates despite the state budget law. However, the Post & Courier has reported that enforcement of the mandate may be spotty in Charleston County following mixed messaging from the school district. Monday will be the first day of classes.
At least four schools in Beaufort County are mandating masks. The county’s Catholic schools — St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton, John Paul II in Okatie, St. Francis in Hilton Head and St. Peter’s in Lady’s Island — began mandating masks for staff and students Wednesday, following a directive from the Charleston Diocese.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Beaufort County School District has reported 160 students or employees diagnosed with COVID and 557 quarantining as close contacts between Aug. 9 and Aug. 18.
Students make up 153 of the COVID cases; 17 are employees. Of those in quarantine, 544 are students and 13 are employees.
For perspective, that means 3.2% of the district’s roughly 21,500-student enrollment has either been diagnosed with COVID or quarantined; the staff numbers represent about 1% of the district’s roughly 2,900 employees.
District spokesperson Candace Bruder stressed that “these numbers are fluid as nurses continue to update records throughout the day.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 4:04 PM.