Residents of Macon County are calling for the overturning of the recent mandatory school masking decision made by our school board on 8/16/2021. We believe the board has overstepped its boundaries, removing the voice of the parents as well as their ability to decide what is best for their children. We, in turn, believe that the best course of action for our community would be to place the right to choose back into the hands of the parents, a right given to us by our forefathers as American citizens. We are calling for masks to be optional for all school-related activities, on and off campus, for the 2021-2022 school year.

The effectiveness of masking, especially of our children, is disappointing at best based upon the lack of concrete data of its impact over the last 18 months. From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were advised to wear masks, being fed claims that it would slow the spread. As we all witnessed, masking had no impact on the slowing of the disease as case numbers increased even with the institution of stay-at-home orders and mask mandates. What began as “14 days to flatten the curve” has turned into 18 months of social distancing, mask wearing, and limited social activities with no end in sight.

We are being forced to again mask our children based upon an unsubstantiated fear. However, the facts that we do know continue to be ignored. Here is what we already know.

-The COVID-19 virus has a survival rate of 99.98%, with children and adolescents being among the least affected.

-There is a widely available vaccine open to most age groups for interested parties.

-The consistent usage of masks, especially the same mask all day, is a breeding ground for bacteria, compromising healthy breathing and encouraging increased face touching.

-Face masks and the adjoining social distancing denies children opportunities for social referencing (facial queues) and physical interactivity which has lasting negative cognitive and emotional effects as evidenced by 2020’s 50% increase in suicide attempts by adolescents.

-County-wide masking ignores the needs of individuals with medical exemptions who are not able to wear face coverings.

-There is no federal mask law.

-There is no statewide mask law.

To require our students to again wear masks after denying parents the opportunity to physically gather at the board meeting on behalf of their children; learning that most parents would rather masks be optional through the online submission of their wishes; ignoring the data; and without consideration of those with medical exemptions can only be viewed as a tyrannical abuse of power.

It’s time for our kids to be kids again. It is time for them to go back to school and to regain their sense of normality. And ultimately, it is the parent’s job to decide what is best for their children.

Please join us as we fight for this basic freedom on behalf of our children. Join us in protecting their mental and physical wellbeing.

As parents, this is our duty!