When it was announced back in December that District 51 would no longer require students to wear masks in schools with high COVID-19 transmission rates, we asked for an open, public discussion on this change. Last night the Board of Education had a discussion. It was imperfect, but we appreciate them having it and involving the public.

They asked questions, had a back and forth and debated how to go forward. Ultimately they voted to get rid of the mask requirement, which was probably the decision they were going to make all along. As the Board of Education, they can do that and it was something the three newly elected board members talked about in the campaign.

We want to be clear, though, that the Free to Choose idea – that parents will decide if their child will wear a mask in school – is a cop out.

If the parents tell their child they are to wear a mask, what is to stop them from removing it once at school? Will the teachers be expected to police the optional masks?

You’re taking the responsibility to protect students from this pandemic from the district and putting it on the kids.

Free to Choose works for adults. We know our own risk factors and those of our loved ones who we interact with in close contact. We can make an educated choice on when and where we will wear a mask. That’s harder for a kid if you’re just one of a handful of your peers wearing one.

Recall your days in middle school and how much peer pressure there is on kids. No one wants to stick out.

This could lead to bullying, as Board Member Will Jones alluded to at Tuesday’s meeting. Jones said they were making efforts to deter bullying, but that’s a tough problem to tackle.

The policy also doesn’t account for the reality that schools will continue to have outbreaks, as long as this pandemic continues. We’re hoping removing masks doesn’t lead to a large spike in cases. Right now cases are on the decline, which is great. But if that changes and rates start climbing, when will the district step in to protect student health and what action will it take?

Board Member Angela Lema said closing entire schools if the COVID rate was too high was preferable to her than universal masking. We can’t imagine there are many parents in the district who would choose to return their child to virtual learning rather than have them wear a mask.

The district over the past two years has made huge efforts to keep our kids learning face-to-face with their teachers. They have done a great job and we think it was worth the effort. While some kids did fine with remote learning, many struggled. Lema is dead wrong and we hope the board clarifies that we will not be closing schools as anything but a last resort.

Ultimately, what the board did with this decision is to overrule public health guidelines. They’re allowed to do that, but now they own it.

We think a board primarily composed of non-medical professionals should follow the guidance of our public health officials, which set forth metrics that should be met before dropping the masks. They didn’t, and whatever happens next is on them.

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel editorial board