Editor:
As an educator who has continued to work during COVID-19, I would like to call out the public school board members who voted against the mask mandate in their local districts.
The world, the U.S., and Berks County remain in the middle of a pandemic, with rising cases, a highly contagious new variant and unvaccinated adults and children. Yet school board members everywhere voted to remove one of the easiest protective tools — a mask.
This new policy begins in January, two weeks after a major family holiday, during the winter months and in the midst of a pandemic.
Compounding this problem, public schools are already facing a major shortage of teachers, substitute teachers and bus drivers.
Schools may soon have a major problem on their hands, just because some board members chose to respond to parents who felt wearing a mask was “uncomfortable.”
Can you say perfect storm — a really bad situation of really bad things happening all at the same time?
Students need to know they can learn without interruption and with protection.
No matter how you feel about vaccinations, masks are completely safe (and effective). Mask mandates are important and necessary in public spaces.
Cities such as New York and Philadelphia have returned to the mask mandate in all indoor venues. What makes a city more important than a school? A school is a public space for our most important commodity — our children. Why remove a child’s protection?
Joan Jepsen-Burger
Pike Township
Source: Berkshire mont
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