Various issues were presented to the Unit 5 school board tonight, June 16. Over 200 people were in attendance and multiple public comments were given by students, teachers, residents and parents. An issue that received special attention after and before president Amy Roser called for a recess because of “disappointing” actions of some members in the meeting. About 30 people at the meeting chose to not where masks while seated.
“We will proceed by prohibiting people who do not comply with with our reasonable rules and regulations that the state mandates. We will prohibit them from being on school property in the future,” said secretary Barry Hitchins.
Roser said it was incredibly disappointing that they have members of the public asking us to go to these lengths…. to make a scene tonight.
Several moms, including Kari Donoho started her public comment with a “horrifying story,” recently her four-year old grabbed a stranger’s hand in the park. Her son thought she was his teacher because he doesn’t know what she looks like.
“He would’ve went home with this person and God forbid when someone has ill intentions and swipes a child they can go to a grocery store, airport and they can go undetected because no one knows what anyone’s face looks like anymore,” said Donoho. “I am his parent. I am his number one protector. I am here to fight for him and I will only get louder and louder. When he tells me he does not want to wear his mask anymore or when he doesn’t want to go to school in the morning because school is the only place wear he has to wear it, I look him in his beautiful blue eyes and I tell him, ‘I will do my best and you do your best.’ Until you can quit sitting there, doing nothing and blaming the other entities as a way to hide from responsibilities to fight for our children, then you are not living up to the position you are in.”
Donoho said the board can find loopholes to get around IDPH and ISBE guidelines, and urged the board to stop caring about money.
Superintendent Kristen Weikle said she hasn’t heard of any Illinois school district, she said most schools receive a considerable amount in federal and state funding.
According to ISBE, in-person school is mandatory.
Flanagan-Cornell Unit 74 and Red Hill CUSD #10 have already announced optional masking despite IDPH and ISBE guidelines. On June 16, the Warsaw School Board made masks optional. Warsaw School board operates out of Hancock County, Illinois.
“Whether it be programs that help students who are struggling with learning, the free-national school lunch program…and if you blatantly go against what the Illinois State Board of Education is doing they can pull those dollars and they’ve threatened to do so in some cases,” said Weikle. “I don’t know of any school districts that say, ‘hey we aren’t going to use that money because that’s how we pay for some of our teachers. I wouldn’t be surprised if IDPH and ISBE, because right now it is both, so they are really our governing entity. We don’t know what changes are going to happen.”
Weikle said there are a lot of things ISBE says they have to do that many educators don’t necessarily agree with.
“We can’t blatantly go against them without putting our students and community at risk of losing funding,” said Weikle.
Another parent Jason Mccullough said people in the community and he believes the board is derelict in their duty. He also said if the mask mandate is not lifted he will not be putting his children back in school through Unit 5.
“You enforce policies that spread fear and shame in our children, retard their learning and socialization and so much more,” said Mccullough.
Me was met with shouts from the crowd saying, ‘You can’t use the r-word.’ The board meeting was then called to a halt, again.
“I don’t understand why people are offended by this,” said Mccullough. “It is a valid scientific term for when a process chemically slows down, I thought since we were here to discuss education everyone would have a basic level of education.”
Katie Lavoie, an educator and learning behavior specialist, also spoke out against masking children in the fall of 2021.
“I am here for the children, you are here for the children and we are all here for the children,” Lavoie said as gesturing to the large crowd. “Children are not being harmed by this virus. There is near-zero risk, being struck by lightning is more of a reality. Why is this district still masking a population that is not sick? You’ve heard the significant harm masks have on young children, I’ve heard blame and excuses tonight. Guidelines are not rules.”
Alex Shonn, spoke out against DEI and Critical Race Theory and begged teachers to stop oppressing her. She is holding this sign up at Unit 5 school board meeting.
No comments were given in favor of masking in the fall of 2021. Masking was also discussed at District 87’s school board meeting.
A parents told Cities 92.9 a lot of programs through Normal Parks and Recreation are in the schools, but don’t staff follow mask mandates they are enforcing students with.
“My daughter has a activity inside Glenn Elementary and none of the Normal Parks staff are wearing a mask inside the Unit 5 school and have witnessed them allowing the kids go with out a mask inside the school for the activity….. so ‘Why do we have to wear a mask in the fall?’ This makes no sense,” said a Unit 5 parent.
