“You’re doing irreparable harm to our children.” “What do you fear?” “This madness needs to stop.” “Masks don’t work.” “Do your own research and be brave.” “Support the rights of families.”

Members of Cheyenne Mountain School District 12’s Board of Education heard these and other comments Monday evening from a crowd largely opposed to the district’s decision to mandate masks indoors for all persons, regardless of vaccination status. 

Parents, grandparents and students voiced their objection to the mask mandate issued by the district Aug. 18. Arguments against wearing masks ranged from alleged physical and psychological harm to children from mask-wearing to the efficacy of masks when worn for hours on end. At least one person was removed from the meetings for excessive interruptions.

Opponents of the mandate packed the the community room District 12’s administration office and protested outside the building as well. Protesters held signs that said “My children, my choice” and “Let us breathe.”

Inside the meeting, some asked the board to look to Falcon School District 49 as a model for allowing parents to choose what’s best for their children. D-49 has no mask requirement, does not report positive COVID-19 cases to public health agencies and does not cooperate with contact tracing requests. 

Each commenter at the meetings was given three minutes, and the public comment portion of the meeting lasted an hour – a restriction El Paso County Republican Chair Vickie Tonkins said may be a violation of the board’s bylaws. 

Tonkins said generally speaking, bylaws cannot be changed without going through proper channels, which is in most cases a committee with the authority to make a change. If the public was invited to speak, every person in attendance should have had that right unless the bylaws say something to the contrary. 

“Read the bylaws, if there is a violation, call them out on it. If not, then you have to accept it,” she said. 

Following public comment, the board invited members of the D-12 medical advisory board to speak. The group of healthcare professionals provided a rebuttal to the board members. In the background, protesters were outside chanting, “USA,” “No more masks,” “We are free,” and “Hear our voice.”

The meeting was held in person and broadcast online. The members of the medical advisory board did not identify themselves each time they spoke. 

“We’re not arguing the efficacy or non-efficacy of masks,” one medical advisory board member said. “We’re talking about what steps it takes to maintain children in school with as few interruptions as possible.”

After a tumultuous 2020 school year, keeping students in school in person is the ultimate goal, one that can be maintained through masking or high vaccination rates, the members of the medical advisory board said. 

If all students are masked and one child contracts COVID-19, only that child needs to quarantine. The rest are safe to stay in school, the board said. 

They also pointed to other districts that don’t have mask mandates in places that are having to shift. In one example, they noted Patriot High School in Peyton has had to shut down. The school is part of District 49.

“PHS Families: Due to multiple staff out sick and no substitute coverage, PHS will cancel all classes for Monday, August 30th to organize e-learning protocol,” a statement on Patriot High School’s Facebook page reads.

Under Colorado Department of Public Health guidelines, quarantine mitigation strategies will remain in effect until 70% of persons in the county above the age of 12 are vaccinated, or until the rate of transmission is less than 35 cases per every 100,000 people over a seven-day span, the medical advisory board noted. The transmission rate as of this writing is between 200-210 people per 100,000.

Ultimately, the advisory board supported the mask mandate, despite the fact that masking is hard on kids and parents alike. 

“I empathize with the speakers tonight,” said an advisory board member. “We don’t have the power to change the rules, we have the power to operate under the rules as they are given to us.”

Contact the writer: hugh.johnson@gazette.com