Indian River school board votes 'no confidence' in Gov. Carney's mask mandate
Shannon Marvel McNaughtUnder the lights of the football field at Sussex Central High School in Georgetown on Monday night, the Indian River School District Board of Education voted "no confidence" in Gov. John Carney's mask mandate, as well as to submit a petition asking for the emergency order to be reconsidered or revised.
The no-confidence vote is a largely symbolic action. Indian River students will still have to wear masks this year.
"We are trying to work within the rules that are set in front of us and we're speaking out as a board," said Board President Rodney Layfield. "I think this was what we could do to exercise ... what little local control we have within our district."
The decision seemed to appease the 125 or so people who came to the meeting (Indian River serves nearly 10,600 students), some with signs that said things like "Unmask Our Children."
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They cheered at the no-confidence vote, which came after many took the opportunity to comment in opposition to the mask mandate. The board twice extended the comment period to accommodate them.
Gov. Carney announced Aug. 10 that everyone kindergarten-age and older in public and private schools and child care centers must wear face coverings indoors, regardless of vaccination status. A formalized version of that announcement was issued a few days later through the state Department of Education.
The mandate is based on Aug. 5 guidance from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, but Indian River board member Charles Hattier said "the governor is not following good science."
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He made the motion for a no-confidence vote "in the governor, his staff or (the Delaware Department of Public Health)," and all but one board member, Gerald Peden, agreed with him.
"If there's a few cases of COVID and a student's not masked ... hundreds of students could have to quarantine," Peden said later. "I don't like it, but with the quarantine restrictions, I think masks make for the best effort to keep students in school face-to-face."
Board member James Fritz took issue with the Department of Education.
"My biggest issue is pretty much the fact that the governor and Dr. Bunting, who carries this order, have decided to take power away from the local school districts," he said.
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Susan Bunting is the secretary of the Delaware Department of Education, a job she took in 2017 after serving as superintendent of the Indian River School District for about a decade.
Fritz made the motion for the board to submit a petition to the Department of Education asking for the emergency order to be reconsidered or revised, which he said they must respond to. It passed unanimously and was also met with cheers.
Indian River's moves come after school boards across the state have been confronted by people who do not believe masks should be mandated in schools.
Just last Thursday, the neighboring Cape Henlopen School District Board of Education ended its meeting early after members were continuously shouted down by attendees.
The next morning, Indian River announced it was moving its board meeting to the football field.