During this evening’s special meeting, the District 39 Board of Education voted to approve the D39 Reduced Mitigations Plan. Per Board directive, this plan will be implemented tomorrow, Wednesday, February 23, in all District 39 schools. I started this petition about 2 weeks ago as a “one man band” when I wondered how many other families felt the same about the current Covid mitigations at our schools. Margaret Mead’s quote has never felt truer than it has right now: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” As we move forward, we’ll model respect of personal choice of students and staff to mask or not mask. I know that we will have empathy for the many different situations our students and staff may face. Your neighbor, Chris Beer