PORTSMOUTH — Members of the School Committee got a clue of what they were in for before parents even took to the microphone last week.

Superintendent Thomas Kenworthy was giving a presentation on what the R.I. Department of Education (RIDE) was currently recommending to mitigate COVID-19 risk during in-person learning when the topic of masks came up. After he said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) had recommended masking for all students indoors — whether they’re vaccinated or not — loud shouts of “No!” reverberated throughout the auditorium at Portsmouth High School.

The outburst proved to be prophetic. Out of 28 people who spoke in person or via Zoom, only six said they favored a mask mandate indoors. The rest said parents should have the option of whether or not they mask their children.

Some opposed to a mask mandate also claimed that face coverings do more harm than good by delaying children’s development both in academics and socially, and that they deprive children of quality air to breathe and leave children with rashes on their faces.

At the time of the meeting, Gov. Daniel McKee had strongly recommended face coverings but resisted issuing a mask mandate for public schools, leaving the decision up to local districts. On Tuesday, he said nearly 80 percent of school districts have already mandated masks indoors when school starts next month.

However, on Thursday, Aug. 19, the governor announced he will indeed issue an executive order to require masks to be worn in all public schools in Rhode Island starting this fall. He also said he will sign a new declaration of emergency that targets the Delta variant of COVID-19.

No decision was made during the meeting on Wednesday, August 11, as the board was merely seeking input from parents, educators and others. “I think it’s going to give our administrators a lot to think about over the next couple of weeks,” Committee Chairwoman Emily Copeland said after more than 90 minutes’ worth of comments from residents.

We’ve compiled a sampling of comments made by local residents during last week’s meeting. 

Those opposed to a mask mandate:

Nancy Ashmore, of Lepes Road, has four children who went through the Portsmouth schools, as well as four school-aged grandchildren. She worked as a speech pathologist in the public schools for 25 years, and said masks muffle voices and conceal facial expressions.

“How many of our children are missing classroom instruction because they cannot hear the teacher? More importantly, unlike adults, our children are still learning the social cues and nuances of non-verbal communication,” she said.

Every adult in the room has had the opportunity to get vaccinated, she added. “If people do not want to be vaccinated, or they want their children to wear a mask, it is their right. It is time to stop holding the rest of our children hostage to the opinions of people who are not their parents,” she said.

Erin Felder, of Long Meadow Road, has a son going into the second grade at Hathaway.

“My responsibility as a parent is to advocate for what’s in his best interests,” said Ms. Felder, adding she doesn’t want her son be breathing in “harmful CO2 all day, causing dizziness, exhaustion and migraines.”

Adeline Jasinski, of Ethel Drive, said she has a master’s degree in molecular biology and genetics from Cornell University. “So, I am a scientist. I worked in research at Brown and Roger Williams, and taught biology at Bristol Community College for 10 years before staying home full time,” she said.

Children are more resilient to the coronavirus than adults, she said. They’re 40 percent less likely to contract COVID and when they do, they’re 63 percent less likely to spread it to others, she said. According to data from RIDOH, there have been no fatalities of people under 30 in Rhode Island due to COVID, she said.

“Our children are not in grave danger.”

Cloth masks are inadequate in protecting against COVID, she added, and can thwart a child’s development. “It is not just hot or uncomfortable; it is a barrier to communication.”

She and her husband Dave, who also spoke out against a mask mandate, chose to homeschool their four children last year rather than send them to school under the district’s COVID mitigation policies. They will do the same this year if a mask mandate is approved, she said.

Jessica Mathis, of Botelho Drive, said face coverings have been harmful to children’s academic progress and social growth, particularly those with special needs.

“If forced again to mask, I encourage and request our district to provide all teachers and administration, especially our speech therapists, special educators, paraprofessionals, etcetera, be provided with clear masks or shields,” she said, adding that children with 504 plans or IEPs should receive them as well.

Natalie Orbon, of Child Street, has two kids in the middle school, and another going into kindergarten. She claims the masks don’t work because the virus can penetrate the fabric.

“They’re not sealed, it goes out the top and out the side,” she said, noting that children have been playing with each other indoors and outdoors since the pandemic started, and they’ve been OK.

“We need to give choice to the parents,” she said. “My authority as a parent has been stripped from me. I’ve told my kids, ‘Do not comply with mask policy. If they tell you to wear it; you have my permission to take it off.’”

Joe Pappas lives in Bristol, but has a son who attends Hathaway. He said it was absurd how arbitrary the rules on mask-wearing have become. “We’re all here now and we’re not wearing any masks,” he said, referring to the PHS auditorium.

There were only nine current COVID cases in Portsmouth as of last week, and the risk to children is low, he said. “We shouldn’t even be here talking about this. More people died from cancer last year than COVID,” Mr. Pappas said.

Heather Reynolds, of Amesbury Circle in Middletown, said 90 percent of teachers in the state have been vaccinated and that no Rhode Island child has yet died from COVID. Mitigation efforts have, she said, “always been about not overwhelming the hospitals. It was never about cases.”

COVID, Ms. Reynolds said, isn’t going away, “and we are always going to have cases.”

The CDC recommends a lot of things, such as alcohol and sugar intake, hours of sleep, and exercise regiment. “These are all recommendations,” she said, adding that people have the right to follow some recommendations or not.

She also accused the state of hypocrisy by permitting large-scale musical festivals such as the Newport Jazz and Folk festivals this summer “with thousands of people in attendance, and then threaten masking in school.”

Sofia Sinclair, of Ethel Drive, has two children at Hathaway and another in preschool, the youngest of which attended school without a mask last year and never got sick, she said.

“Masks are making it difficult for children to understand their teachers to learn how to read and how to communicate because of the missing cues for developing not just the mechanics of language, but the nuanced display of language and the full display of emotion,” she said. “I believe it is cruel to do this to young children when not necessary, as continued masking will impact their psychology, their mental health, their language development and their ability to connect with others.”

According to AAP, the risk of hospitalization in children since the Delta variant emerged is hovering between .8 and 1 percent of reported cases, and fatalities are at .01 percent of reported cases, she said. “This should put everyone’s mind at ease, and yet the flurry of headlines has stoked fear and panic just in time for the school year.”

Many experts, she said, are recommending not masking children under 11. “It’s not necessary and, quite frankly, I think it’s abusive to children.”

Ryan Smith, of Hathaway Drive, has three daughters, the youngest of which is 8. She used to love going to school at Melville, but now hates it, he said.

“It’s heartbreaking, and I’m not going to watch it again. My kids will not be at Melville School if they’re wearing masks, period,” Mr. Smith said. 

Teachers have done “an amazing job” at Melville and at the middle school, he said, but the focus has to go back to teaching. “I’m not scared of COVID for my kids, but I’m scared of COVID rules for my kids.”  

Don Spellman, of Park Avenue, said he and his fiancé had to take in his four granddaughters shortly after moving back to Portsmouth from Florida in 2019. 

They attend Hathaway School, and Mr. Spellman said the girls regularly came home last year with rashes on their faces and appeared anxious over how the school day went.

“They’d tell me, ‘We can’t understand if the teacher’s happy with us, or mad with us,’” he said. “I think we’re raising a generation of germaphobes. I don’t want my granddaughters to be afraid that they’re going to be put in hibernation if they have a sniffle.” 

The U.S. Constitution, he said, gives parents the freedom to raise their kids the way they want. “If you want to put a mask on your kid, then that’s your choice. But I’ll tell you what: I’m not going to put a mask on my granddaughters ever again,” he said.

Christine Waldeck, co-founder of the Rhode Island Wellness Society, said children have suffered terribly from masks, which leads to a regression in skills and often depression. She added she has “deep concerns” about the most vulnerable children who have delays in social skills and academics.

“We simply do not have the data that proves that forcing a child to wear a face covering that inhibits their ability to breathe, speak or communicate is safe for every child,” she said.

Cherie Waluk, of Long Meadow Road, is the co-founder of Unmask Your Children Rhode Island and has three children in the district. She said many parents “were pushed out of the conversation” last year, and she urged the committee to “join other six districts who are leaning toward mask choice.”

Ms. Waluk said her oldest daughter suffered from anxiety and panic attacks during the last month of school due to being quarantined, although she never had COVID. Her middle child had a rash on his face and struggled with distance learning, she said. Her youngest was born with cerebral palsy and can’t tolerate a mask.

“I ended up sending him to Portsmouth Nursery School, a private preschool, and guess what? They didn’t have to wear masks. Guess what else? Not one student caught COVID and they didn’t give it to any of the teachers,” she said.

The group she started now has 2,200 parents from across Rhode Island, she said. “What is going to bridge the gap between parents who feel what I feel, and parents who believe in universal masking?” she asked, before stating that parents are the “experts” when it comes to their children.

Those in favor of a mask mandate:

Lisa Donofrio, of Windward Lane, an eighth-grade math teacher in Portsmouth, urged the committee to follow CDC guidelines.

“I know a mask mandate is not a popular decision or a popular thought at this moment, but when you make a policy, isn’t it possible to ease the policy as you get more data? Right now, you have certain data that you’re looking at. It’s changing daily. If you make a decision, please make … it with safety in mind, like you did last year.” 

Ms. Donofrio noted that when students ride a school bus, they’re required to wear a mask. “Isn’t it counterproductive to wear a mask to school and then say you didn’t really need it after all?” she asked. “I don’t like wearing a mask, either, but I did it all last year and I would do it again. I do feel that younger kids who are not vaccinated are at risk.”

Chris Hoye, of Robin Road, has children who will be entering kindergarten and second grade this fall. He said the district should follow the lead of the CDC and AAP. 

With “multiple mitigation strategies, masking being one of the most vital, school can be safe for our kids,” Mr. Hoye said. “Due to the spread of Delta, it does not make sense to remove mask mandates at this time. Studies repeatedly show that voluntary masking is not as safe, and ultimately results in more COVID spread.”

Amy Moss, of Bourbon Street, urged the committee, “particularly for unvaccinated students, to listen to the voices of the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, of the experts who spend their lives researching these issues.” 

The nine active COVID cases in Portsmouth may not seem like a lot, but with exponential growth, “very quickly that becomes 63, that becomes over 400, that becomes over 1,000. We have seen it move faster than you can think,” she said.

Meghan O’Connor has two children going to Melville School — one in kindergarten, the other in second grade. She believes the precautions that were instituted last year worked out well.

“I think it’s a temporary inconvenience that will protect the health of all of our children. The vaccine will be available in a few months for the kids under 12. I think even just until the vaccine is available, a mandate would be preferable,” she said. “Children of past generations have gone through much worse. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. Do I wish my children could have a more normal childhood? Yes. But I believe the masks are important and are needed at this time during Delta.”

Kristine Richards, of Holliston Avenue, an educator, said she favors a mask mandate because the majority of experts and health organizations have recommended one. 

“I completely understand and appreciate the challenge that the district and School Committee is facing, with so many constituents demanding to unmask our children and RIDE leaving the decision up to (the local districts). However, as leaders we cannot make educational decisions, let alone one on health and safety, based on beliefs of a vocal group that isn’t necessarily doing the scientific research,” said Ms. Richards, who was heckled by some in the audience. “I trust people who dedicate their lives to public health. I would encourage you to use research as opposed to current political beliefs.”

Dana Yeager Squires, of Greenfield Avenue, has children in first and fourth grades at Hathaway. She’s also an administrator for an independent school, and said she understands “the delicate balance” the School Committee faces.

“Vaccines will soon be available for younger children as more adults continue to be vaccinated,” she said. “The risk is being mitigated. This is a temporary issue; we are not asking that students be masked forever for their entire education.”

Ms. Squires said she understands some parents feel a mask mandate would infringe upon their right to parent and make decisions for their children. “However, this is a public school, so anyone who does not feel that the rules and guidelines and policies of the public school align with their own feelings or infringe on their rights, are absolutely welcome to homeschool or find alternate education courses or co-ops with like-minded families to educate their children,” she said, adding that a district must consider the entire student population and faculty as a whole, not just an individual. “This is a public decision, not a private one.”

She also said there are special masks available, such as those with windows and others that reduce the risk of rashes. “Removing the mask requirement is going to increase the likeliness of quarantines and distance learning, which imposes a much more significant risk than the masks do,” she said.