NEW WASHINGTON—A recent CDC COVID mandate was met with some backlash at Buckeye Central’s board of education meeting on Thursday night.
In accordance with state guidelines, the school district stated that students are to wear masks on the school buses, though they are optional in school.
Several parents and grandparents voiced their disapproval on the matter.
“The children are being used as pawns in our adult world. These young minds don’t have the ability to decipher between using a mask or not. We, as responsible adults, do. The school board’s decision only wields power and control and shows it’s driven by fear and cowardice. Countless doctors, scientists, and studies have revealed absolutely no benefits from the masks,” Kay Weisenauer said.
One mother in attendance, Keri Pope, spoke at the meeting and emailed the board members a list of one hundred and thirty-four reasons why kids should not be made to wear masks based on eighty-five studies she researched.
There was no action taken on the matter.
The school will allow for legitimate medical and religious mask exemptions for students.
Throughout the school year, students will not be allowed to use drinking fountains, but there are water bottle fillers available to students, there will be three feet social distancing, plexiglass will be used by some teachers, buses will be sanitized daily, and there will still be sanitizer available for students to use.
The school is looking into changing the ticket policy for students for home games. The Bucyrus city school district allows for its students to get in for free, and Buckeye is looking into potentially having some games where students either get in for free or for half price. N10 student and adult tickets will be six dollars this season.
The Zeigler/Sheibley Memorial Volleyball Tournament will be back this year on November 8 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the school. The high school, middle school, auxiliary gyms, and the cafeteria will be used for the approximate one hundred participants.
The new school year is set to begin on Wednesday, August 18. An open house will be held on Monday, August 16, from 6 until 7:30 p.m.
The next board of education meeting is on September 16 at 7 p.m. in the administrative center.