WEYBURN - A group of protesters with signs decrying the use of masks mandated in Southeast Cornerstone schools stood on the sidewalk in front of the Cornerstone board office prior to the board meeting on Thursday.
In addition, a delegation of parents met with the board and made an impassioned plea to reconsider the rules for elementary school-aged children being required to wear masks in class, when the provincial government has not reinstated the mandate for mask-wearing that was lifted on July 11.
The delegation included Lindsay Sterling, Norm Rasmussen, Mandy Szczecinski and Jesse Szczecinski, and they laid out their belief that by forcing children to wear a mask discriminates their rights to an education as guaranteed under the Education Act and the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights, among others.
Sterling pointed out she has not received any medical consent form for her child nor had she signed one.
The parents also argued they do not have the legal right to supercede these rights by imposing the requirement for masks, especially when it is not mandated by the province.
Sterling asked that a committee separate from the school-community council be formed, and that a survey be done of parents on the issue of mask-wearing. The board was also asked to tell teachers not to put forward their views on wearing masks, or to make comments about children who don’t want to wear one, alleging there have been comments made in classrooms on this issue.
Parent Norm Rasmussen said his two sons loved school and were curious and energetic, but that all changed with rules about masking. Since then, he’s had to fight with them to go to school every day, because they don’t want to go anymore. They also ask questions about the inconsistent rules for wearing masks, and he doesn’t have the answers for them about why the rules were made.
In addition, as both he and his wife work full-time, they are not in a position to home-school kids if they have to go to remote learning, and they weren’t trained to be teachers. The masking rules were particularly hard to take after the province lifted the rules on July 11, and they were able to live a normal life for the balance of the summer, with his sons playing with their friends. That was lost when they got a letter late in the summer about the requirement for masks again.
Rasmussen ended his comments by pointing out the decision should be his as a parent, not the school division making the decision for him. “They’re our kids, not your kids. I don’t know why we’re even debating this,” he said.
The delegation was told that the board would consider the presentation and would make a reply to it at a later time.
Later in the board meeting, education director Lynn Little presented the safe schools plan that will go into effect for Cornerstone on Monday, Sept. 20, requiring students in Grade 6 and younger to wear masks in class and on buses. In addition, all Grades 7-12 students where there is a positive COVID case will be required to wear a mask for 14 days from the time of the last exposure of a student in close contact with them.
Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children will be grouped in small cohorts for play-based learning, and high schools will go to two-period cohort schedules, which was done in the last school year.
“We recognize that things do change and shift, especially in a COVID world,” said Little, adding the plan will require masks to be worn at specific schools, with the decision made in concert with the local medical health officer.
The board met in closed session earlier that day with the medical health officials, and were given an update on the COVID situation in the southeast region.
Little noted there were 104 active cases in the southeast, including 17 new cases, and apparently children on buses have had exposure to COVID as have seven schools in the last few days.
The rate for students aged 12 to 17 who are fully vaccinated is under 50 per cent in the southeast, said Little, and the officials “strongly recommend” that masks be required, particularly in elementary grades as there is yet no vaccine for those under 12 years.
Parents of children who are in close contact with a child who tests positive will be notified by email, and by the rules set down by the province on Monday, they will have to self-isolate. Only those who are fully vaccinated will be exempt from the requirement to self-isolate.
“If parents have questions about the plan, they should discuss these with their principal, and if they have concerns, they should contact any board member or myself. We will continue face-to-face learning, and will continue to move through this as best we can,” said Little.
