Attention to the parents and guardians of children in the Brookline NH public schools, (RMMS & CSDA), and other interested residents!

On August 17, 2021, the Brookline school board hosted a scheduled public meeting with a key focus of determining whether, or not, to mandate face masks for all kids for the up-coming school year, 2021-2022. There were many issues with the meeting, including the fact that the event was not sufficiently publicized or socialized to the general public, which prevented significantly large portions of residents and parents the opportunity to voice their opinions and have their votes casted accordingly. Some of the Board members mentioned, they were voting for the mandate of masks based on what they felt the overall community wanted, in other words the number of people who expressed for the mandate verses the number of people who expressed against it. I believe these numbers are not an accurate reflection and thus a misrepresentation of how the community feels.

There are a substantial number of reasons why face masks should not be mandatory for healthy children in a school setting, but that is not what we are here to discuss. We want to show the school board how the community really feels. If you oppose the mandate for mask wearing and feel it should be an OPTION for parents and legal guardians, NOT the school board, then please join us in signing this petition. This is open to parents or grandparents of children in the Brookline school district, as well as other taxpaying Brookline residents, as it has been brought to my attention that every voice matters, even residents who do not have children in the school district. So, let's show the Board what the community believes.

We're requesting that the Board acknowledge, support, and enforce the right of parents and legal guardians to choose whether, or not, their children should wear a mask throughout the school day. Our goal is that if a healthy child attends school and doesn't want to wear a mask, that child should be allowed to attend without a mask on. We also request that email alerts be sent out to every parent, (who is signed up to receive them), when meetings are scheduled. There is no reason the School Board cannot send this information out to parents, especially when they send us notifications for practically everything else. Again, my concern here is that this information is not being made easily accessible and available to parents and other residents of the town. Thus, not giving the residents an opportunity to express their concerns and have their voices be heard.

Brookline School Board, please do not force masks onto our children. Please continue to do the amazing job you've all done for our kids in your time of service to this school system and stand up for their rights, and the right of parents and legal guardians to make educated decisions for the health and welfare of their children.