Mask mandates were a source of contention for some parents at the Columbia County Board of Education’s regular session Tuesday.
Several residents came to speak during the public participation portion of the meeting both in against and in favor of mask mandates. This came after the board officially implemented safety mitigation measures that include a requirement that students and staff wear face coverings while indoors even if vaccinated.
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Among those for such mandates was Marquita Bradley, who complained before the board about apparent lax protocols regarding health and COVID safety. Bradley, whose 7-year-old attends Columbia County schools, noted overcrowding on buses as a particular concern. She also expressed a preference for homeschooling, acknowledging that parents may have differing beliefs about how to handle face coverings and vaccines, but criticized limited homeschooling options. She said she was on a waiting list to enroll her child in Georgia Cyber Academy.
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“Whatever you decide to choose — that’s good for you,” said Bradley. “But for the safety of my child, I would love to do just homeschool because I’m nervous.”
Lakeisha Safford also spoke in support of COVID-19 protocols. Safford went before the board to speak against segregating school buses by gender but commented on the COVID controversy in her presentation. Safford said her daughter contracted COVID, developing post-COVID syndrome, but her condition improved after getting the vaccine.
“I want to say thank you to you all for mandating masks,” said Safford. “It doesn’t make sense to me to say ‘we’re taking away freedoms to wear masks.’ You might as well say ‘drive down the street drunk if you want to.’ Why willingly put your children through that?”
Among the public participants speaking out against COVID-related mandates were Lauren Pearson. Pearson, who has two children attending Lewiston Elementary, noted studies she claimed showed that face coverings are ineffective and that small children were extremely low-risk for contracting COVID.
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“I pray to God you continue to allow us our freedoms to choose what we want to do for our children,” said Pearson. “I refuse to cover my child’s face.”
Pearson demanded from the board documentation supporting its mask mandates.
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“I am asking as a public records request for all the legal evidence that was provided to you concerning why we should make our children wear masks,” said Pearson. “I want to know legal facts. There should be studies, doctors, weights of evidence showing why. When you mandate something, you put yourself on the line. You are now responsible.”
To read the Columbia County Board of Education’s extended mitigation measures for COVID-19 visit https://www.ccboe.net/apps/news/article/1478900.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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