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This story was updated at 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 13.
The Oswego School District 308 Board of Education voted, 6-0, with one member abstaining, to make face masks optional for students for the upcoming school year after a contentious meeting Monday, July 12.
District Superintendent Dr. John Sparlin’s recommendation for optional masks regardless of vaccination status was met with applause from a crowd of parents and community members who have long been frustrated with the district’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The school board’s decision came after new guidance was released last week by federal and state health officials that allows school districts more local control in implementing pandemic rules and procedures.
“As your superintendent, I believe in the importance of fairness in the experience of all students in school so it is equitable and mirrors their experience and opportunities outside of school,” Sparlin said near the close of Monday night’s meeting. “Our district’s detailed plan will be shared with parents, staff and community as those components are finalized.”
The district’s new mask policy can be found here.
Monitored by Oswego police officers, the meeting’s public comment portion featured speaker after speaker criticizing the use of face masks and vaccines for schoolchildren.
“This simply just doesn’t make sense any more,” parent Dominique Castillo said of mask policy. “There’s no ‘science’ with inconsistent masking. What goes on my child’s body is my choice.”
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Parent Joanne Johnson said she would pull her children from the district if mask mandates remained in place.
“There is a line between a parent’s role and a school’s role,” Johnson said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccines for children 12 and older, calling them safe and effective tools that can “keep your child from getting seriously sick even if they do get COVID-19.”
Two students spoke in favor of continued mask use in schools, saying that COVID-19 variants pose a risk to children and the unvaccinated.
“We have to worry about students that are immunocompromised and their family members who are immunocompromised, themselves,” said senior Zoe Wareman. “Vaccinated or not, we have the variants to worry about now.”
School board members did not take kindly to the style of antimask parents, who heckled officials and pro-mask speakers. Some board members maintained they had received threats against them in their email.
“We will not shy away from this discussion, but we must have respect and civility for the betterment of our students and our staff,” said member Jennifer Johnson, the only member to abstain on the vote.
Board member Ruth Kroner pushed back on comments that the school board had to follow the will of voters and the community.
“We want to know public opinion. We want to know what you think, what you feel, what your perspective is,” Kroner said. “But to do what you want us to do, that’s not our job.”
Although the board’s decision was viewed as a win for antimask parents, the district will have provisions to reinstate mask mandates should local COVID-19 metrics spike again. Masks still are required on school buses. Sparlin said that he will meet with other superintendents and the Kendall County Health Department this week to determine how to monitor area case data.