Some Fox Chapel Area parents lobby for masks to be optional at schools

Several Fox Chapel Area School District parents want administrators and elected leaders to rethink their health and safety plan and lift the district’s mask mandate.

They have brought their concerns before the school board. Protests also have occurred outside the district’s administration offices.

“Covid has affected every aspect of our lives,” parent Julie Sforza said at the Feb. 14 school board meeting. “We know a lot more today than we did two years ago. Many of us have returned to normal life. Covid continues to be less harmful than the seasonal flu (for) K-12 students. I thought that after the state mandate was lifted in December, we could move to a mask optional approach as many other schools have done.”

The state Supreme Court in December upheld a lower court’s decision throwing out mask mandates.

Gov. Tom Wolf had said prior to the court’s ruling that he had planned to lift the mandate and put mask decisions back in local leaders’ hands in January.

Sforza has two children in the district and one heading to kindergarten next year. She said students are missing out on social cues and key developmental cycles as a result of having to wear masks.

“They deserve more and a return to normalcy,” Sforza said.

Parent Scott Troutman agreed. He said the district’s safety policies are not proportionate to the risk it is trying to mitigate.

“The risk that exists any longer for our children is minimal, and the intervention that you have for our children is significant,” he said.

Troutman questioned why the district tied its policy to Allegheny County covid case and transmission numbers.

“That is a mental framework that’s locked into April 2020, and we are so far beyond that at this point it just makes no sense,” Troutman said.

Last month the school board made masks optional provided certain criteria be met. Masks remain mandatory “when there is substantial transmission or high transmission of covid-19 in Allegheny County as defined by the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” the safety plan read.

The updated plan was posted to the district’s website, fcasd.edu.

County and state officials have said case numbers dropped significantly in Allegheny County after skyrocketing in December with nearly 2,000 cases reported in a single day.

The CDC still has Allegheny County listed as being a “high transmission” area. It recommends everyone wear a mask in a public, indoor setting.

The district reported it has had 819 covid cases from the start of school in August through Feb. 16, including 465 in January.

January’s numbers include cases reported during the 10-day winter break.

Parent Emily Glick hosted two protests earlier this year along the sidewalk outside the administration office.

The first drew a couple of participants, and the second one about five, Glick said. A third protest took place Feb. 16 during high school dismissal. About 13 people participated.

Some protesters held homemade signs that included messages, such as “End The Mask Mandate,” and “Face Facts, Not Masks,” and “Unmask My Child.”

“I’m for peaceful protesting to fight for our parental rights in making conscious decisions regarding the health and safety of our children. The school board should exercise restraint before infringing on this individual liberty,” said parent John Michael Sakoian Jr., 47, of Fox Chapel, who participated in the protest.

Sakoian, an architect, said he endured some heckling from high school students and other drivers, but added most people driving by honked and gave a thumbs up in support of the protest.

Glick, who attended February’s school board meeting with a sign that read “Mask Choice,” said Fox Chapel ignores how other school districts are handling the pandemic. An environmental scientist, she said wearing masks causes less oxygen to be acquired and creates anxiety among students.

“You are hurting kids,” Glick said.

Administrators and board members did not address the mask concerns during the public comment portion of the meeting.

“We certainly respect everybody’s opinion, and that’s really all I can say about it,” Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac afterward.

Board president Marybeth Dadd said the district is required by law to reevaluate its health and safety plan every six months, but may revisit it sooner.

“We can and will revisit it whenever we feel we need to,” Dadd said. “We’ve chosen our metrics to use and right now we feel those are the best metrics.”