Oshkosh School District (File Photo)
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Oshkosh School Board yesterday finally held their meeting originally scheduled for last week.
The meeting was held virtually after their attempt to hold it in-person was disrupted by parents angry over the district’s policy to require face masks for students to begin the school year.
Just outside Oshkosh Area School District’s office, parents continued to protest the district’s policy to require masks.
“We’re here to advocate for their option for their kids choosing to have a mask, as much as we are for our kids to not have to be masked,” said OASD parent Michael Lyon.
They arrived before Monday’s board meeting, which was held virtually. The board’s in-person meeting — originally held on Aug. 25 — was postponed after a group of parents refused to wear masks in the building.
After parents continued to refuse to put masks on, board members walked out, ultimately deciding to postpone the meeting.
Oshkosh schools originally announced a mask optional policy at the beginning of the month. Two weeks after that initial decision, the administration switched to require masks.
It’s a decision that continues to leave parents frustrated. One father spoke out against the requirement at Monday’s rescheduled meeting.
“We’ve chosen you guys, we’ve elected you to represent us and you broke that trust when you took that accountability out of your hands and gave it an unelected official,” said OASD parent Matthew Tooke during public comment. “Masks work for their intended use, when you have active symptoms. Those people are not at school, they’re screened out.”
However, members of the community showed support for the district’s decision to require universal masking.
“Yes, children get less COVID than adults, but we’re still seeing more infections and hospitalizations with the variant,” said OASD community member Michael Duffy. “We don’t yet know everything, science isn’t perfect, but we’re seeing a lot more cases in children and they can also take the virus home to their families.”
There are currently 33 active COVID-19 cases among OASD students, according to their director of pupil services.
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