We are asking the Westonka School District to allow each individual student and their family the opportunity to make their own decision about wearing a mask. 

There are several disadvantages to face masks. The two most notable disadvantage are that masks impair communication (both verbal and non-verbal) and they block emotional signaling between the instructor and the student. 

Other disadvantages of our children wearing masks include that they both decrease oxygen (O2) intake and increase carbon dioxide (CO2) intake and they trap unwanted foreign bodes in their fibers which can then be aspirated potentially causing severe respiratory distress. 

A study conducted over the course of nine weeks in North Carolina, spanning 11 school districts and involving over 90,000 mask-free in-person students and staff, resulted in no reported instances of child-to-adult transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

As we look forward to our children resuming classes in the fall, it is imperative that Westonka Schools has policy in place that allows for each family to decide if in-school masking is the right choice for them. The decision to mask or not is a family decision. It is not a decision to be made by people who do not feel its impact.

It is time for the good people of our school district to stand up for Westonka Students and allow families the Freedom of Choice!