CHILLICOTHE. Ohio — Passions were ignited Monday afternoon in Chillicothe during a city school board meeting.
People on both sides of the political spectrum addressed the board during their regular scheduled meeting. The hot topic of the evening was the mask mandate put forth by the district’s superintendent in response to the rising COVID-19 numbers. The mandate was issued less than 48 hours before students returned to school last week to start the 2021-2022 academic year.
“Going to school, day-in-and-day-out in a spit-soaked bacterial-filled mask is cruel and immoral,” said mother Julie Wettersten. “I choose my child not to wear a mask if he chooses not to.”
The woman went on to cite unverified statistics and said that children do not die from the deadly virus.
“Children have a statistically 0% chance of dying from COVID.”
In the first week of August alone, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, nearly 72,000 cases were reported in children, roughly 19% of the total number of new cases nationwide. And while hospitalizations and deaths remain low, the number of child coronavirus infections increased by 3% over the last two weeks of the month after declining earlier in the summer.
“I support the district’s masking policy,” spoke taxpayer James York. “I’m very concerned about any school or business not wearing a face mask as the Delta variant sweeps the country …. no one likes wearing masks, I certainly don’t. What’s so hard about doing the right thing for children?”
District Superintendent Debbie Swinehart spoke with the Guardian after the meeting. She said that the mask mandate will remain in effect until at least September 10. When that day arrives, she said, the district will evaluate the situation again, using guidance from local, state, and federal health organizations.
Swinehart said there had not been any notable issues of students or staff refusing to cooperate with the mandate.