After a contentious week, the Hinsdale High School District 86 board voted 5-2 in favor of keeping its mask mandate in place over a mask-optional policy at a meeting Thursday night.
As it stands, masks are required for students and staff, exempting only the students whose parents are named in a Downstate court order that temporarily halted Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders on masking and quarantining for schools.
Last week, Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow sided with the 700 parents from nearly 150 school districts that allege students who object to wearing masks or being excluded from school for being a COVID-19 close contact are entitled to due process.
According to District 86 officials, less than 10 of their students across both high schools and the Transition Center are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Parents opposed to universal masking signed up in droves to speak during public comment, some wielding signs that said “no mask mandate, my health my choice,” and others holding up papers that read “follow the law.”
“Have we ever considered masking kids for pneumonia? How about the flu?” asked Hinsdale Central parent Melissa Lane. “There are worse concerns for teens than COVID-19.”
Lane began listing things that she believed are “statistically more harmful” and life threatening to teenagers than COVID-19.
The notion that the virus is a benign issue was also echoed by Addison Linn, freshman class president at Hinsdale Central, who said, “I’m not scared of Covid and many of my classmates aren’t either.”
“We are exhausted from being manipulated and exploited into wearing masks. Time is up for the government and the school board mandating these masks,” added student Sydney Pjesky.
Despite a push from mask supporters early in the week to rally other “pro-maskers” to show up to the meeting, the group was outnumbered by ardent mask policy critics.
Clarendon Hills resident Jennifer Zordani said she was “perplexed” at some people’s inability to understand masking, and pointed out that the viewpoints being projected at the meeting don’t reflect the majority view of the community.
After Zordani’s allotted two minutes were over, members of the audience shouted “time’s up” and a group of them erupted in laughter.
A board vote on COVID-19 protocol was on the table, though it wasn’t clear until member Peggy James said she would like to make a motion to revisit the back to school plan from August and make masks optional.
Jeff Waters, who seconded the motion, said he agreed with those in the audience who thought what happened on Monday was “chaos.”
Several districts across the Chicago area responded to the court order by going mask optional as early as Monday, but District 86 did not alter its stance.
Per school officials, the 5% of students at Central who refused to wear masks (and who were not plaintiffs in the lawsuit) were asked to take part in asynchronous learning in the auditorium. If students agreed to comply with the district’s COVID-19 mitigation strategies, including universal masking, they were allowed to return to class, officials said. They also had the option to be excused from school for the remainder of Monday.
“The worst path we could have chosen, was the one you chose, Superintendent Prentiss,” Waters said during board comments.
Most audience members cheered at Waters’ remarks throughout the meeting, and booed at board vice president Kathleen Hirsman, who said after making her case for a mask requirement, “I am not going to be cowered by a mob mentality.”
Things got even more heated when Waters suggested Hirsman abstain from voting because she’s never had children in the district — something he said she’s done on two past occasions.
With the crowd shouting at her to “resign,” Hirsman said, “I am deeply offended … I am not going to let the noise prevent me from doing what is right for the majority of people in this community.”
Hirsman cited a large number of emails she received from others in the district that support masking.
Board member Erik Held attempted to explain the legal ramifications involved on both sides, whether the district goes mask-optional or not.
“Three hundred fifty schools in the state have chosen to go mask optional. I’m assuming those particular districts aren’t taking egregious risks either, and we can go mask optional,” responded Waters.
In the end, only Waters and James voted to discontinue the mask mandate.
Several speakers also called for the resignation of Superintendent Tammy Prentiss, and several more in the audience waved yellow posters that said “fire Tammy Prentiss.”
A push to remove the superintendent has been ongoing for a few weeks after an anti-racism consultant withdrew her proposal to provide equity training to faculty.
Residents have criticized Prentiss for reading out loud the consultant’s letter, in which she refers to Hinsdale as “dangerous” after receiving hate mail from those in the community.
One woman asked the board to revisit the superintendent’s employment.
“There is great risk in keeping her here. Tammy Prentiss does not add value to District 86,” she said.
Students like Pjesky chimed in against Prentiss as well, saying, “On Monday I walked into school without a mask, then I found myself and other students detained — not once did she make us feel heard.”
“Ms. Prentiss, this time I hope you hear what I have to say. Times up. End the political game,” Pjesky added.
Though tensions were noticeably high, multiple people including Hinsdale Central junior Imaan Zaheer, called for a united front in light of the derogatory comments she’s seen on social media and in person over the last few days.
“The lack of regard for other people in this district is appalling,” Zaheer said. “This is not supposed to be something that should be taken lightly. My message to everyone in this room is to take some time and reflect.”
