FAYETTEVILLE-MANLIUS SCHOOLS – Students will continue to be required to wear masks in New York schools until at least March.
Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state’s indoor mask mandate would be lifted in most businesses and public locations, but masks in schools would stay until the state can evaluate case levels following the February break.
Two days before the governor’s announcement, the Fayetteville-Manlius Board of Education continued to hear from parents angry about the mask mandate in schools.
One parent in particular, Joe Dunaway, has been outspoken in his opposition to masking students in Fayetteville-Manlius schools. Dunaway has spoken to the board during multiple meetings on the subject and also livestreamed a Jan. 29 visit to Eagle Hill Middle School at which he confronted Superintendent Dr. Craig Tice about the mask policy. By last week, that video had been seen more than 1,600 times.
The Feb. 7 board of education meeting was broadcast on the district’s YouTube channel but the audio was unavailable for the majority of Dunaway’s comments. Speakers were given three minutes to speak, and when the three minutes expired Dunaway was asked to quickly wrap up his comments before he was cut off by school board President Marissa Mims.
“Given what we know about the ineffectiveness of mask cloths it’s clear that only selfish hypochondriacs and tyrants want to force children to wear masks in schools. What kind of adults do this?” Dunaway said. “Covid policies, whether you set them or not, have been a spectacular failure with severe unintended consequences, especially for children, while ultimately not preventing the spread of covid.”
Following Dunaway’s comments, Manlius Police Department Officer Damien Golden forcefully asked anyone in the audience not willing to put on a mask to leave the school building.
“I’m making myself very clear,” he said. “You’re either wearing a mask, or you’re leaving.” At that point, a few of those in the audience left the sparsely attended meeting.
During his covid update, Tice reported that there have been 505 positive cases of covid in the district since the beginning of the holiday break and announced that rapid tests would be distributed to families who request them. He did not mention the mask policy.
The debate on masking in schools has spilled over onto various social media platforms where parents on both sides of the debate have posted emotionally-charged comments.
Throughout the school year, Fayetteville-Manlius has adhered to a strict masking policy in school. Students are given a brief “mask break” during the day but are otherwise required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth. This is in accordance with the mandate set forth by the state.