To the Editor:

I watched the school board meeting last week and I was disappointed by the decision to not require masks. As I listened to the arguments for not wearing masks, I was dismayed by the fact that people kept referring to the fact that masks don’t protect people from COVID.

That is right, they don’t but masks do protect others if the wearer is infected. The other argument I was dismayed by was that ‘the parents should make medical decisions for their kids.’ Well, that makes no sense either, because deciding that your child does not need to wear a mask has little to no impact on your child’s health, but it does impact other children’s health.

So those who do not require their kids to wear masks are making medical decisions for other kids, and not their own. And thirdly, I am disappointed that some of the board members are giving up their responsibility of being educational leaders.

The role of the school board is to guide the district to provide the best education to students which includes ensuring a safe environment for all students. By voting to not require masks, most of the board has decided to relinquish their responsibility to oversee the health and well-being of all students.

Just talk to our neighbors in the County to see what happens to the education and health of their kids when there are no mask mandates.

To wrap this all up, I am saddened and disgusted that this country has moved from doing what is best for the community to doing what is best for the individual. I am afraid that this does not bode well for the future of this country.

Ann Speth

Bethel