Rocky View Schools (RVS) has opted to review its mask-wearing mandate and consider rapid COVID-19 testing program, following impromptu motions brought forward by a trustee during the board's regular meeting on Thursday, Dec. 9.
During the latter half of the meeting, Ward 5 Trustee Judi Hunter proposed two motions, including a proposal to provide free rapid testing to any staff member who chooses not to be vaccinated — a condition of employment RVS previously announced, which goes into effect on Jan. 3, 2022.
Following the debate on the first motion, Hunter proposed the board also consider rescinding its mask mandate for the division's pre-kindergarten to Grade 3 students effective the same date. The motion ultimately failed in a 5-1 vote.
“In a society, we have social responsibility to care for the whole,” she said during the meeting. “The majority of the over-12 population have been vaccinated. All of us who have vaccines, me included, just want to live our lives, so we complied.”
She added that while COVID-19 case numbers have been decreasing as of late, the drop has coincided with a rise in cases of mental un-wellness and addictions among young people.
“Of which, in my view, will long outlast the impacts of COVID,” she argued. “A rise in suicides, crime, incivility and intolerance; rising fear and lack of a sense of security, and division among families.
This, she said, results in a "deficit,which our children and grandchildren will need to pay.”
Hunter said she's received many emails including arguments and studies, both for and against vaccines and mask mandates. She said she has tried to make sense and sift through the data with the aid of her "personal value system."
She said her conscience was leading her to take a stand regarding the matter.
“The bottom line, for me, is when you see debate of any kind shut down and there is only one narrative — I get concerned,” she said.
Hunter said while school boards across the province have been asked to implement mandates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, she doesn't believe it is within their jurisdiction to do so.
“In light of that, I’m asking for your support and the same [goes] for those people who through conscience or other reasons have decided to say no to the vaccine,” she said.
Norma Lang, trustee for Ward 4 – representing schools in northeast Rocky View County – said she felt blindsided by Hunter’s proposals and needs more time to deliberate and gather information before deciding if she was for or against either motion.
“We don’t have the information we need to make an informed decision today,” Lang said. “We’re being asked to debate a motion and we don’t have the information that would help us make a more informed choice.”
She proposed to postpone deliberation of the first motion until the new year, when a special board meeting might be arranged. After a short recess, the board members voted unanimously to postpone the motion for further consideration until Jan. 20.
“I think as a Board of Trustees, one of our roles is to treat everyone fairly, and fairness includes giving people time to prepare for the work we’re asking them to do, so I feel this is a fair way to handle [the motion],” Hunter said.
Shortly thereafter, Hunter brought forward her second motion for consideration which, if passed, would have removed the mask mandate for pre-kindergarten to Grade 3 students effective Jan. 3.
“My understanding is that the Pre-K to Grade 3 [masking] is not a requirement from the Chief Medical Officer [of Health],” she said. “Given the fact that almost everybody is vaccinated that wants to be or needs to be, I no longer see a requirement for masking in that age group.”
Superintendent Greg Luterbach said the topic of masking among pre-kindergarten to Grade 3 students has been a divisive issue in school boards across the province, and may serve to further divide both RVS staff and stakeholders.
“You’ve got a situation whereby some people would be happy should the motion pass, and others will be upset,” he said. “I think you’ve got a potential occupational health and safety matter that could come forward… I'm just speculating.”
Similarly, Lang said the unpredictable nature of the pandemic may lead to either a rise or fall in COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks, which makes a formal decision at this time difficult.
“There’s so many unknowns. I’m really uncomfortable making a decision like this for the same reason I made the motion about postponing the previous motion,” she said, noting the board has always tried to stay in line with the advice of the chief medical officer throughout the pandemic.
Rather than postponing the decision, the board opted to take it to a vote, leading to a failed motion with only a single vote in favour, from Hunter. Trustees agreed that further discussion would be needed regarding the mask mandate during the board’s in-camera meetings, with the potential for a motion to be put forward at a later date.
A group of parents and RVS staff who previously gathered outside the education centre to voice their concerns regarding mandated masking and vaccinations attended the meeting. A private in-camera meeting with the group was scheduled for later the same day, where group representatives said they would be presenting information on why they feel mask mandates should be removed.
Carmen Cundy, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @carmenrcundy
