Chrisman School Board Votes Yes
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Chrisman School Board members, left to right: John Rogers, Jim Spesard and Reed Nolen
Tensions were high at the August 12th meeting of the Chrisman School Board. This meeting was important due to the fact that the district would be voting on whether or not they would comply with the mask mandate set by Governor J.B. Pritzker earlier in the month. The mandate came after the students were registered, leaving the issue not sitting well with most parents.
Twenty schools across the state of Illinois have chosen to push back against the mandate, but Chrisman had yet to decide at the beginning of the meeting. Pushing back meant putting the district at risk for funding.
Three parents attended the meeting in order to state their opinion. Kaleb Haddix was in attendance with his wife, Holly, who spoke first. Haddix began by introducing herself, stating that she had two kids that were in the district. Haddix thanked the board members, administrators and staff for caring about their children and having their best interest at heart.
“I can’t imagine what pressure and stress comes from the things you all are going through right now,” Haddix said.
Her original idea was to talk to the board about how the parents should be able to choose on whether or not their child should wear a mask to school, but decided that would’ve be helpful due to the mandate that had been enforced.
“While my conviction about school mask mandates are strong, the reality of losing the choice about mask fails in comparison to what others have lost in our community.”
Haddix went on to state that she would continue to praise the school no matter what. The second matter that she wanted to discuss was a raise that was denied for Dean of Students, Jeff Nelson.
At the last school board meeting, Nelson had requested a raise, but it was denied by the voting of the board members. “I urge you to please reconsider this. There must be a way to make this work,” Haddix said.
Amber Woodyard, who had three children in the district also spoke up about her views on the mask mandate.
“When I registered my children this year, the mask mandate wasn’t in place,” Woodyard said. “My children absolutely hate wearing the masks. I have one that’s claustrophobic and now I have one that wants me to take her out and home school her.”
Woodyard urged the school board to go against the mandate.
“I think that’s ridiculous to mask our children over a virus with a better than ninety-nine percent survival rate. I just don’t see the threat. If masks are optional and kids want to wear them, great. But the ones that don’t want to should not be forced.”
Superintendent James Acklin moved the vote up for the parents in attendance to be able to further voice their opinion.
Principals Cole Huber and Kelly Schluter, along with Nurse Trisha Brinkley recently met with the Edgar County Public Health Department on what their recommendations would be.
If the district were to go with a mask mandate, the social distancing parameters would change. Instead of the previous six feet, it would now be just three feet, only if the students are wearing their masks correctly. Meaning they would have to be form fitting and it would need to be sitting correctly on their face.
The health department also introduced a ‘test to stay’ option for the district. This would potentially keep students out of quarantine. If a student comes up COVID positive and everyone who had been around them were contact traced, those students and their parents can chose to get a COVID test at the school on days one, three, five and seven of their quarantine. The student would still be labeled as ‘quarantined’, but if they do this test to prove they are not contagious, they are able to stay at school, but will not be able to participate in extra curricular activities.
“They can’t do non-essential things due to being labeled as quarantine,” Huber said.
Both Huber and Schulter have been certified to be able to administer the rapid tests for the students at both the elementary and junior high/high school.
Acklin began the discussion about the mask mandates. Multiple conversations have taken place over the last week for more information about what would happen if they chose to go against the Governor.
“Keep in mind, my personal feelings are irrelevant. I’m delivering a message as accurately as I can. I’m not saying I agree with it. I’m just accurately conveying what’s been told to me,” Acklin said.
The potential consequences for not following the mask mandate could include the loss of federal funding, loss of state funding, loss of school recognition as well as tort immunity, both as administrators and board members.
Board members voting against the mandate would not be able to be legally represented by the school attorney if the district was sued.
“You would have to secure your own legal defense and you would be responsible for the expense of that in a lawsuit,” Acklin said.
As far as the Governor’s mandate, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the Governor has the authority to issue those mandates with the force of law.
“I’m obligated to do what’s best for me and my family, if nothing else, and recommend that this return to school safety would be adopted with the mask mandate,” Acklin said.
Ackin stated that he wasn’t generally someone who was risk-adverse, but is unwilling to take this specific risk. “I would not be doing my job if I wasn’t bringing all of this information to your attention.”
Jeff Eddy brought up the possibility of shortened days since the students would have to be wearing masks all day, which would be up to the board. With shortened days last year, the students missed a total of thirty-nine days when you add up the hours.
“That’s a whole quarter’s worth of instruction. I don’t like the idea that our kiddos would have to be in class longer with masks, but I don’t like the alternative either concerning that learning loss,” Acklin said.
Students would be able to take a mask break to get time without it through the day.
Newly elected school board member, John Rogers was the first member to speak out against the mandate. “I’m not for it. I’ll take my chances,” Rogers said. “There’s no place that a lawyer can point out where we would be out of that tort immunity.”
According to Darren Bailey, 2022 Illinois Governor candidate, the school board members will still be covered, there’s no exact verbiage. “He said they’re trying to bully us. They’re trying to bully everyone into thinking this is how it is. It doesn’t have to be that way.”
Rogers said that he was all for the safety of this kids, but believes that it’s ridiculous that the children have to wear masks while participating in gym class or sports. “You’re looking at more safety issues by wearing a mask during sports that not,” Rogers said. “The part where it takes away IHSA sports, who cares? If we want to have a school basketball program, if we get dropped from the IHSA or IESA, they can still play and have fun. If there’s not schools that start this, nobody is going to stick up for themselves.”
School board President Karen Webster stated that before the meeting she had spent an hour on Google, trying to find reasons based on medical studies that students shouldn’t wear a mask.
“I spent an hour, trying to find something,” Webster said. “I went through ten pages and didn’t find anything.”
She also had spoken to her own physician about wearing masks for children under twelve that can not be vaccinated.
Webster stated that articles have been reported about adult children who have received the vaccine are now facing fertility issues. “He (her physician) said that it was very unfounded,” Webster said.
Recently the vaccine had been approved for pregnant women, despite reports of some women having miscarriages after receiving the vaccine.
Although Webster and her family had COVID before without their knowledge, she proceeded to get the vaccine, but now is unhappy about having to wear a mask, despite being vaccinated.
“I have my vaccine and it really irks me that I have to wear a mask. That’s one of the reasons I got it in the first place,” Webster said.
Webster said to look at the big picture of things and to be more diligent on things. “Nobody got sick last year. Why not? Because we were diligent on doing the things we should be doing from the start” Webster said. “Washing our hands, cleaning our desks, not sharing the things the little kids sneeze on.”
She mentioned that she had heard on television that someone had said that if people would just follow the rules, in ninety days we wouldn’t have to wear a mask.
“That’s what they keep saying though,” Rogers said.
Webster mentioned that she would feel terrible for the parents of Seniors who wouldn’t be able to receive their diploma because the school chose not to follow the mandate. This would fall under loss of school recognition. “I’m not for going against it and I’m not for putting my family at risk,” Webster said.
Webster went on to say that the people that we lost in the community probably thought they weren’t going to pass away either. “That’s not the right attitude to have with this,” Webster said. As she went on to talk about the legal matters, board member Cory Chaney asked: “What about the parents suing us because their kid has to wear a mask?”
Chaney asked if ISBE has the authority to enforce this mandate.
After his research, Chaney discovered that they in fact do not. “According to House Bill 2789, this does not give them the right of the state legislature as intended by the law to enforce this mandate,” Chaney said.
Acklin said that he believes it boils down to if the Governor has the authority to enforce it.
“When I talked to Brad Halbrook yesterday, he said that he did not,” Chaney told the board. “His executive order authority ran out in April of last year.”
A total of sixty-nine lawsuits have been filed against the Governor’s orders. “It’s been proven again and again that he does have the authority,” Acklin said. “I agree with local control and we’re being governed by a bunch of tyrants.”
Acklin went on to say that he would be supportive no matter what the board decided, but had to go on record saying that his recommendation is that the mask mandate be implemented.
“Whatever the outcome, I’m going to do my best to move this district forward,” Acklin said.
Chaney also questioned the IBSE and their decision to offer remote learning.
“How does COVID know any different from last school year to this school year, there’s no difference in it except for this so called variant,” Chaney said. “Why don’t they allow that option? I understand the loss of time in school, but at least the kids that don’t want to come to school can still get an education.”
Having a daughter in school last year, Chaney knows personally the effects that wearing a mask has on a child.
“I struggle with their ruling. I struggle with how their dictating this to us. There’s so many things,” Chaney said. “I get the legal ramifications of it, but I just don’t agree with taking away local control. If that’s the case, then why have a damn school board. Why have anything?”
John Rogers asked why it was ok a few weeks ago, when Pritzker had said that it wasn’t his decision, it was local decision.
“My opinion, he thought that more schools were going to go along with the mandate,” Acklin said. “When he found out that that wasn’t the case, he thought he better do something. From what I’m hearing and this is Jim Acklin’s opinion, is that you have local control as long as you agree with me, but as soon as you don’t, you don’t have control. Which meant you never did.”
Many of the board members struggled with why the kids have to wear masks, but Pritzker let the music festival ‘Lollapalooza’ happen and no one wore a mask. As well as Pritzker not wearing a mask when he attended the state fair.
“I don’t understand the politics behind it,” Chaney said. “There’s a lot of information out there. You have to do your research and think with your own mind.”
Acklin commended Chaney for all the research that he had done to better educate himself and bring his findings to the board to help them be better informed.
“How much do they take away if we turn this down?” asked board member Reed Nolen.
The more immediate loss for the district would be the inability to access the CARES Money. This is money sent from the government to cover any learning loss from COVID.
“The ESSER Plan is tied in with this back to school safety. This has to be accepted to move forward,” Acklin said. “Would we survive without it? Arguably so because it’s not money that we’re counting on.”
That money was being used to update windows in the elementary building and would cause this project to be put on the back burner. What is more worrisome to Acklin is the potential loss of state funding. “I don’t know how that would work. I don’t know if they would shut it off all at once. I don’t think anyone knows that,” Acklin said.
The district wouldn’t survive very long without state funding, but they would be able to for a period of time. The school has a healthy EAV and most of the revenue coming in is from local resources, but the state sources are a pretty good chunk.
“You wouldn’t want to do without it,” Acklin said.
According to the budget, the district is set to receive $600,000 from the state. This would be lost if they chose to go against the mandate, but the anticipated total revenue for the year would be $3.3 million. This would leave the district with $2.7 million to work with for the year and proceeding years.
John Rogers asked Superintendent Acklin if he had ever heard of any type of school for any reason not being funded. “I would have to say no,” Acklin said. “The only thing that I’ve heard of like this is when schools are managed so poorly and they came in to try and right the financial ship.”
Jim Spesard asked if it was possible to see the numbers of students that would be pulled out for homeschooling options. “I was just curious. They’re fighting this mess in Jamaica right now. Twenty or thirty students were pulled out last year because of the mandate,” Spesard said.
Acklin agreed that some parents probably would pull their students out because of this. “I don’t know how you can predict it,” Acklin said. “I think the timing of this was not by accident.”
Some school boards have to have special meetings to deal with this issue. Other schools have just decided to go with it and not have meetings.
Timothy-Christian, one of the schools going against the mandate, also a private school, announced they would do so around August 9th. The ISBE rules for private schools and public schools differ from each other, but no one has been given a clear answer as to why.
On August 11th, the school received a letter that their recognition had been revoked.
As of August 11th, Casey-Westfield, Beecher City, T-town, Central A&M, Shelbyville, Spoon River Valley, Benton, Red Hill, Odell have all voted to make mask recommended, but not required. No school in Edgar County has gone against it.
“I would say our immediate neighbors are going to comply,” Acklin said. Of those standing against it, many have stated they aren’t going to back off until they have to.
As they have been known to do, there is the possibility that the CDC could change their mind and the mandate be lifted. At that time, the board could have a special meeting to change the mandate from recommended, not required if they chose.
The board has had to pivot many times with the changes they have been handed out in the last two years. This will be the third year that the district has had to deal with mandates for the year.
“As a team, we are in a position to make changes on the fly. Obviously, we want to do what reflects the school board, which reflects the community, right?” Acklin said.
Acklin apologized for any mental energy that the board had to use on this matter. “This is what I signed up for,” said board member Jeff Eddy. Chaney spoke up saying that he had been on the board for many years and had never had to face a decision like this. “Each path I see, it has it’s pitfalls,” said Acklin.
“Being a father, I have two kids who have dealt with this,” Spesard said. “I’ve coached high school and junior high basketball programs. I’ve been involved in games where these poor kids have been forced and subjected to wear these God-awful hideous things on their face. It’s hell for a lack of better words.”
Last year, Cory Chaney’s daughter, Haley, basically had her Senior year taken from her.
“It’s psychologically deflating for these kids. I saw it last year with my own daughter,” Chaney said. “What it did to her psychologically. Shortened days, wearing a mask, sports activities – wearing a mask. It’s difficult no matter what age. It was hard on her.”
Quiet for most of the meeting, newly elected member Cody Denton said: “I’m not for the mask mandate, but if we stick to our guns, we’re talking the loss of state funding. How long can CUSD#6 stay open without state funding? Nobody knows what the outcome is,” Denton said.
School board President Karen Webster mentioned that even if the school decided to go against the mask mandate, they wouldn’t go back to normal.
“If all the schools around us are doing the mask mandate, they’re not going to be able to do any extra curricular activities outside the school with a mask,” Webster said. “In our little world, we can sit here without a mask on. But they’re not going to be able to judge an FFA event, go to scholastic bowl or an outing without putting on their mask. If you want to isolate your kids, then that’s the way you want to go.”
The issue of losing tort immunity in the case of a school board member being sued was brought up again and the gray area of not knowing how much time they had until that was in effect began to weigh on the board members.
“I personally think it’s all scare tactics, but who is he going to use to set the example?” Jeff Eddy said.
At first, the board thought about going just thirty days for the kids without masks, then revisit at the September meeting, but after more thought from board members, it wasn’t apparent that would be the choice.
After discussing the matter for the better part of an hour, the time came for the board to vote. A motion was made by Webster to accept the return to school plan as read, including the mask mandate. A no vote would mean masks would be recommended for the non-vaccinated and not required. A yes vote would be for the mask mandate.
With a 4-3 vote (No votes: Cory Chaney, John Rogers & Jim Spesard; Yes votes: Reed Nolen, Karen Webster, Cody Denton & Jeff Eddy), the Chrisman School District chose to stick with the mandate to avoid any legal ramifications and loss of funding for the district.
“You folks have your answer. I know it’s probably not what you wanted to hear. This hasn’t been fun for any of us,” Acklin said.
Cory Chaney stated: “I’m sorry to those parents who are going to pull their kids out of school and home school them and are not happy with the decision.”
