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Union says it could take action if Laurel Board of Education doesn't follow CDC on masking

Billings Gazette - 2/18/2021

Feb. 18—The Laurel School Board's special meeting about the district's COVID-19 safety policy that makes masking optional ended Wednesday night after about two hours of discussion, including dozens of comments from a mix of teachers, staff and community members.

Representatives of the Laurel Unified Education Association, a union representing teachers and staff, argued that the optional masking policy runs counter to a memorandum of agreement that the board signed off on in January in which they agreed to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The union said it would take action if the school district did not follow the agreement.

The CDC has emphasized mask use in schools as a means of mitigating risk and reducing the spread of COVID-19, which spreads primarily through respiratory droplets expelled by people who have the virus and are infectious.

Optional masking in Laurel schools is part of Board of Education Policy 1905, which was created in spring of 2020 and became the district's guiding policy after Gov. Greg Gianforte rescinded a statewide masking requirement last week.

The board didn't announce any decision Wednesday, but Chairwoman Karen Teeters, who began her remarks toward the end of the meeting by saying she has been "obsessed" with the COVID-19 situation in the state, eventually spoke of her frustration about the need for masking and physical distancing.

"What is the bar, when are we going stop this?" Teeters said after arguing that the state case numbers are low. "So, if we keep doing this, whatever we're doing, the masks, the shower curtains and all this stuff that is emotionally disturbing our kids and affecting their education. When does that stop?"

Speaking after the meeting, Laurel Unified Education Association co-President Brent Scott said he didn't feel the board made a clear choice about what they will do in light of the concerns raised Wednesday night.

Scott said it was possible the union, which represents both teachers and staff in Laurel schools, could take action as soon as Thursday, or they could wait a few days before deciding what to do.

Possible options include seeking a temporary restraining order to reinstate mandatory mask use. During the meeting, Scott specifically mentioned filing a grievance against the board. The board controls that process, something Scott pointed out in the meeting.

"We understand you guys are in charge of the grievance process, so we don't expect a lot of remedy from you about a grievance against you," Scott said. "So we will also file an unfair labor practice."

Scott then concluded his initial remarks, to which Teeters responded "I want to thank you for your vote of confidence in not expecting much out of us."

Teeters was one of four on the board of education who sat without a mask throughout the meeting. Teeters also acknowledged that there was an agreement with the union, referencing a memorandum of agreement that was signed off on in January in which the district agreed to follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We refer to the CDC guidelines, which are referred to a lot by a lot of people all over the place. It is in our MOA. All of us know that the board did not approve of CDC guidelines. We had this discussion many times in board meetings. The CDC makes no finite announcements at all. They make recommendations," she said.

Some in support of masking had argued that the school district should stay the course through the end of the school year and that masking allows for safe instruction when physical distancing isn't possible. Others argued that the optional masking policy could force teachers to decide to remove themselves from the classroom and teach from home, and that the substitute pool, which can rely on older retirees, would be further depleted by what those people may perceive as an unsafe environment.

Gianforte's removal of the statewide mask mandate last week, his emphasis on individual responsibility, and his comments that schools should follow CDC guidance, were used by people both in favor of requiring masks and those against it.

"We are down to one quarter and a half," said Aloma Jess, a physical education and English teacher at the high school. "We have a staff member who has worked here for many, many years. Unfortunately he had a father who passed away from COVID. He has family members at home who are very, very vulnerable to this disease. I'm pretty sure that he needs this job, that he needs to keep working."

"For me it's common sense and practicality," she said. "It's a small price to pay to finish out the school year safely. Believe me, I can't wait to get rid of this thing, this mask, but if this is what we do to get to the end of the school year, I'm all for it."

Nancy Scott, a first grade teacher in the district questioned why things need to change now.

"I also want you to consider making decisions about situations that you're not in. I really admire you guys for jumping into the school board, this is a thankless job and I appreciate that you do it," she said. "Please listen to the people who are in the situation that you are making decisions about. It's where we work, it's where we are and it's were we want to be.

One parent, Rene Roth, accused the CDC of being a "political arm" that is funded by "Big Pharma" and controlled by teachers' unions and other unions "that have an interest in keeping our kids masked."

Roth was among some who expressed concern about the mental health effects they feel masks are having on children. Others repeated the claim that masks either don't work or make people sick because of inhaling carbon dioxide. The Mayo Clinic website lists the carbon dioxide sickness claim as a debunked mask myth, saying that it will freely diffuse through a mask as a person breathes, and that healthcare providers have worn masks over extended periods of time for years.

A father who spoke after Roth said masks don't work and that he's worried about the psychological effects of his 8-year-old son wearing one.

Board of education trustee Dak Fike, who was among those on the board who went without a mask during the meeting, spent some of his time pushing back against the idea that the optional masking policy means the school board doesn't care about people.

"I don't think those who say we don't care know any of us at all. It makes me sad, that I hear that we don't care. Because we care. Just because someone has a different opinion than you doesn't mean they don't care."

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