The Lee County Board of Education voted at a special called meeting on Monday night to require that students and staff wear masks when the school year begins later this month.
The vote was 5-2, with Republicans Pam Sutton and Sherry Womack dissenting. Republicans Sandra Bowen and Christine Hilliard joined Democrats Patrick Kelly, Pat McCracken and Dr. Lynn Smith to pass the measure, which also applies to campus visitors.
Hilliard, the board’s vice chair, made the motion to open the school year requiring masks and to revisit the issue at the next regular board meeting. It was seconded by Smith.
The final vote came after a failed motion by Womack to keep masks optional and reassess the situation in six weeks. That motion, seconded by Sutton, failed by an identical 5-2 vote.
Public comments were largely in favor of keeping masks optional for students, with 11 speakers holding that position to just two who supported a mandate. School for most students begins on Aug. 23.
Watch the meeting video below:
Maybe let the parents choose if their child needs to wear a mask. If you’re scared wear a mask.
I am asking, why do the students need to wear masks? At this point there have been less than 350, 17 years old and younger deaths in the entire country as a result of COVID-19 and many of them had other medical conditions that contributed. The risks to the students of Lee county is not even measurable it is so low. So who are we protecting? The faculty? If they are vaccinated shouldn’t they be protected? If they are concerned then they can wear masks. The students can wear masks if they want. Why is it being mandated. Can someone explain this to me?
Thank you
They can’t! That’s the sad part. Fear is how you control people. I’m over the wuhan virus and mask
so the majority feels they should be optional but the commission says who cares what you think, we say it is mandated….even though the science speaks to the ineffectiveness of masks, and low rate of infection/transmission in children….baffling
Liberal agenda at work!! They LOVEEEEEEEEEE unmitigated power!!!!!