Pressure builds ahead of Dare BOE meeting
FFHS boys soccer team affected by COVID exposure
In advance of the special Sept. 1 meeting of the Dare County Board of Education — at which members are expected to revisit their Aug 5 decision to approve optional masking in school — Board Chair Mary Ellon Ballance sent an email on Aug. 26 reminding residents there will not be a public comment session at that meeting. But interested parties will have a way to make their views known prior to the meeting.
Her message reads:
The Board of Education greatly values your input as we work together to provide the highest quality education for all students in Dare County Schools. Following our typical protocol and Board policy 2340 (Board Meeting Procedures), the Board does not provide a time for public comments in special called meetings. The Board’s agenda is limited to the topics for its special meeting. There will not be a public comment period during the upcoming September 1 special called meeting.
We encourage comments from the public on issues of public interest regarding the schools.
If you would like to address the Board, click on this link: https://www.daretolearn.org/board-of-education/board-meetings. The link will be available until 5:00 on August 31. The board will be forwarded all submitted comments for review before the 9/1 meeting.
Also in advance of that meeting, Tim Shearin, the Chair of the Dare County Board of Health and Human Services, wrote an Aug. 25 letter to the Dare County Board of Education asking members to switch from an optional masking policy to a universal masking policy in the schools.
In the letter, Shearin writes that, “I know there is pushback on mandatory face-covering requirements. However, the evidence and the science are very clear regarding the benefits of face coverings to stop the spread of COVID-19.” He also cautioned that without all students wearing masks, the number of cases will rise and large numbers of students would be quarantined.
Dare County does track the number of students and school staff infected with COVID and those in quarantine. As of Aug. 26, there are 56 active cases among students with 141 being quarantined. Among school staff, there are 7 active cases with 3 quarantined. While the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services does not break down these numbers by school and community exposure, they have risen since the opening day of school when there were 39 cases and 82 people quarantined.
A Dare County Schools official has also confirmed that the First Flight boys soccer team has been “impacted by a COVID exposure.” Earlier on Aug. 26, it was announced that the team had postponed its scheduled soccer game at Norfolk Academy.
Tim is a nice guy, but he is wrong on the science. The CO2 that children get from wearing masks is over twice the allowable limit that OSHA sets for adults. A 2019 study showed that these levels of CO2 in children could cause permanent damage. Follow the science, not the politics.
I have a medical condition – since the 1990s – that prohibits my wearing of a mask for the exact same reason.
After reading your post, I did a quick google search on what you claimed. The first article i got was from Forbes saying that the bogus information you posted had been retracted on 7-17. The second
thing it showed was a pic of Tucker Carlson.
Really? Tucker Carlson??
Follow the science indeed.
I’ll add that my only question on this is why they waited until September 1st. This should have been addressed the next day and not punted for another week. @Roy Cobb your medical condition is not our concern. Medical condition is the go to for not wearing a mask, but If masks are required again wear one or stay home. I like nearly every person on earth hates wearing masks, but I tow the line on this having had a solid case of the virus that took me out for the better part of a week. The purpose of the mask is to protect others from the wearer and to a lesser extent the wearer.