Norwin to avoid mask mandate by holding school board meetings off school property

The Norwin School Board has taken a novel approach to dodging the state mandate that people wear masks when inside school buildings, an apparent concession to board members and several people in the audience this week who did not wear masks.

Board members voted to hold their January meetings within the school district — North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin — but not on school property. A site has yet to be determined, but the intention is to select a place where wearing a mask is not required but which provides internet access so the district can broadcast the gathering over social media, which will permit any board member to attend virtually.

Director Alex Detschelt, one of the new Republican board members, suggested using the North Huntingdon Town House’s commissioners meeting room, which has such technology.

The board has a workshop meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 10 and a voting meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 17, which is the date Gov. Tom Wolf had set for lifting the mandate that masks be worn in schools. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Nov. 30 ordered the mask mandate to be reinstated after a Commonwealth Court lifted it. A hearing before the high court is scheduled for Wednesday.

Darlene Ciocca, school board president, told about 50 people attending Monday’s meeting that she would not stop the proceeding because of people refusing to wear a mask in violation of the mandate. Detschelt and fellow board members Christine Baverso, Shawna Ilagan and Robert Wayman did not wear masks.

The board abruptly canceled its Sept. 13 meeting at the high school auditorium when several members of the audience were not wearing masks and refused to leave the building. At the beginning of that meeting, board solicitor Russell Lucas read an announcement that the state required masks to be worn inside schools.

Several speakers at this week’s meeting asked the newly reorganized board to remove Lucas as solicitor. Four Republicans — Detschelt, Ilagan, Baverso and Raymond Kocak — were elected to the board in November under a slogan of Norwin4Change.

An attempt to remove Lucas as solicitor, to be replaced by Pittsburgh attorney Michael Korns of Maiello Brungo & Maiello, failed on a 5-4 vote. William Essay, Patrick Lynn, Joanna Jordan, Ciocca and Kocak voted to retain Lucas, while the unmasked pact of Baverso, Detschelt, Ilagan and Wayman opposed him.