Twenty-two people provided comments to the Plymouth School Board members Tuesday night in a specially-called meeting aimed at addressing the Return to School Plan for this school year.
Marshall County Public Health Nurse Lisa Letsinger and Public Health Officer Dr. Byron Holm spoke about keeping students in school and that that the Health Department’s strong recommendation concerning masks was directed toward that goal. Letsinger noted that the Indiana Department of Health Strike Team visited the county last week as there is a growing community spread of COVID-19. Out of 804 rapid tests, 197 were positive. A number of PCR tests are still outstanding with results.
Letsinger encouraged the community to come together to protect each other.
“While our recommendation is for masking, it doesn’t mean it’s forever,” said Letsinger. “It means while we are trending in the wrong direction and while our community spread is very high. We feel like that is to protect public health.”
Dr. Holm asked everyone to work together to keep kids in the classroom.
Dr. Holm stated, “Our idea is to try and keep all of our children in school and educate where they can best do that and that is in the school room and not at home. That’s what we’re all about. I’m pleading with the parents, the school board and everybody to help us do that.”
The community members took the school board to task where they demanded that parents have the right to do what is best for their children. One current student and one former student discussed their negative experiences with masks while several parents passionately spoke about how their children struggle with wearing masks, and how it affects mental health and current general learning hurdles. Many called for better communication between the school and the community and simply asked for parents to take control of their children’s health rather than have it be in the authority of school officials.
Plymouth School Board President Melissa Christiansen thanked all who attended the meeting and expressed opinions in a respectful manner. The meeting was for public comment only.
Editor’s note: To hear a few of the comments as heard on the radio broadcast of this story, click on the links below. Not all comments were included and not in their entirety due to time constraints in the on-air broadcast.
