Public speaks on Greeley-Evans School District 6 plans to make masks optional for the 2021-22 school year

By Dan England

Nearly 25 spoke at Monday’s Greeley-Evans District 6 School Board meeting, but the reason they were there made the district’s superintendent, Deirdre Pilch, a little sad. 

All but one pleaded for the district to make masks optional for students through passionate speeches, tears or stubborn defiance. But that was Pilch’s plan all along: The meeting was a few days after the district released its mask guidelines, which call for supporting, but not demanding, masks for students this school year. 

“They are pretty angry over something that isn’t really on the agenda tonight,” said Pilch of the parents who came to spend two minutes each addressing the board, an option the board allows during every meeting regardless of the topic. “We aren’t looking to recommend universal masking. Frankly, we as a team believe it should be a personal choice. But it’s also important that we hear from the public.”

Even so, board members treated the issue like a groundbreaking vote, and more than one called it one of the most challenging “decisions” of their tenure on the board, even though they weren’t voting on the mask guidelines. They struggled with it, they said, as they took many emails, texts and phone calls from people and read over material sent to the district (and yes, others wrote in to support masks, even if they didn’t sign up to speak Monday). 

Some parents were aware that Pilch had already set the mask guidelines but showed up anyway to inform officials of their desire for a mask-free school year. 

Some parents claimed, inaccurately, that masks were not only ineffective but dangerous. But many others chose to focus on their students’ mental health. Niki Avery, a physical therapist and mother of two children, said she understood why officials made the decision to make students wear masks last year, as they were just trying to protect them and their loved ones in a time when limited information was available. But safety also includes their social and mental health, she said. Teachers and students communicate with facial expressions as much as words, and those are just as powerful. 

“Sticking with the plan where masks are an option would help moral support,” Avery said. “Facial expressions are an important part of human connection.”

Jaime Silvernail home-schooled both her children last year partly because of masks. One has trouble hearing and became anxious when she had a mask on; the other has autism. 

“My child struggles enough trying to read social cues,” she said of her autistic child. “A mask is a social symbol to stay back. How are they supposed to connect with each other?”

Others struggled physically. Andrea Walton said her son, a kindergartener, couldn’t breathe with the mask and couldn’t see through his glasses because they fogged up, so he had a hard time playing outside with the other children. 

“The masks don’t do anything for the kids,” Walton said through tears. 

Some simply didn’t like being told what to do, including William Gillard, a veteran and grandfather of a student. 

“I’m from Vietnam (meaning he fought there), and I’ve never seen this much control over anything,” he said. “You don’t have the right. It’s not the American way, and that’s why I’m upset. I’ll fight this to the end.” 

Even a student, Jace Reid, a junior at Greeley West, said last year was difficult and he was looking forward to a more normal year. 

“I think the ability to choose whether we can wear a mask will be one step closer to a normal year,” Jace said.

Pilch said fewer concessions would be made for the coronavirus this year, at least for now. They will continue to have cohorts, or small groups of students, in elementary schools, like they did last year, although those cohorts will intermingle more. But secondary students won’t have them, giving them a full range of classes and the ability to mingle with all their classmates, options they didn’t have last year. 

Secondary students will also be allowed to practice and perform together, but they may have to wear a mask, as high-risk indoor activities still require one. These include playing an instrument, singing in a choir and in physical education classes. If those activities take place outside, masks would be optional. 

Students will have to wear a mask on a bus — that’s federal law — and visitors to schools will need to wear one as well. 

Sports will be allowed, and so far the Colorado High School Activities Association has no guidance on whether students need to wear masks during games and other activities. Fans won’t have to wear them so far. 

District 6 staff have a vaccination rate of 71 percent, higher than Weld County’s 53 percent and Greeley’s 54 percent. District 6 staff will not be required to be vaccinated. 

“I know some believe we should,” Pilch said. “I think we are a very, very long way from that.” 

There are some perks (beyond protection) for students who are vaccinated and can provide proof, Pilch said, including the ability to stay in school during quarantines if there’s an outbreak. This may not sound like a privilege if you’re a student, but quarantines caused many disruptions and could make performances, plays and athletics problematic. Students who are unvaccinated, but are wearing a mask during an outbreak, won’t have to quarantine either. Outdoor exposures, such as football players who come into contact with an opposing player who tests positive, won’t require a quarantine.

This concerned Sherrie Peif, whose son graduated from University Schools and who writes for Complete Colorado, a news site. She said it could encourage bullying, and she also said to look at how those groups interact on social media for proof. 

“You are dividing between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated,” Peif said. “The bullying won’t stop with the students. It will continue with the staff.”

Pilch hopes that isn’t true. She wants both groups to get along this year. 

“This district needs to be a safe place to make personal decisions,” she said. “I want no mask or vaccine shaming.” 

Board members were split on the issue, with some for masks but supportive of Pilch’s guidelines because they trusted staff, some against masks outright and some who were disappointed that the mask mandate wouldn’t continue. 

Board Member Pepper Mueller said she believed in the vaccine but hesitated to call for a mask mandate for the same reason that some parents argued agains them: She was concerned about the social welfare of students. Mueller called herself a “social scientist” and has taught sociology classes. 

“Mask mandates impede that human interaction and impact the social and emotional well being of our children,” she said. “Mental health has been severely impacted by the pandemic mainly because of social isolation, and yes, masks play a role in that.” 

However, Rhonda Solis talked about the time she served on a coalition to ban smoking in public places in Greeley in 2003. She said others made the same arguments about personal choice that parents made Monday. She wanted to keep the mask mandate to protect others in school who couldn’t get the vaccine or faced health problems. 

“It is their right,” said Solis, who wore a mask at the board meeting, “but it wasn’t their right to affect others with second-hand smoke. That was our argument. We as community members were courageous. Health was important, and we knew it affected our community members and it affected our children.”