NEW PALESTINE — A dozen or so Southern Hancock parents showed up at New Palestine High School before school on Monday, Aug. 23, with protest signs disagreeing with the district’s decision to require masks.
The protest came after Superintendent Lisa Lantrip made what she called a “forced decision,” announced Friday, Aug. 20, to reinstate a mask mandate when some 500 students, or 18.5% of the high school population, had to be sent home and quarantined due to COVID contact tracing. In accordance with state health guidelines, if a school building gets to a 20% level, it has to shut down, Lantrip said. That would mean forcing students to go to virtual learning, something district officials do not want to do.
“Our goal has always been to keep kids in school — period,” Lantrip said. “That’s all this is about.”
Lantrip noted not a single student last year — when students wore masks — was identified as catching COVID-19 from close contacts at school. So far this year, however, at least five students have developed COVID-19 due to close proximity without masks, Lantrip said.
“All I know is we have a 6 foot radius (for contact tracing and quarantine) without the masks and it goes down to 3 feet with the mask,” Lantrip said. “That’s half as many kids at least that would not have to be sent home.”
The protest Monday morning was the latest manifestation of frustration by parents angered over what they perceive as inconsistent and draconian measures to thwart the spread of COVID-19 in the schools. After months of dwindling infections and the promise of a “normal” school year, school leaders and public health experts are confronting a rising number of cases fueled in part by the delta variant of the virus, which had not yet surfaced the last time school was in session. Parents’ frustration has been shared at school board meetings throughout the county this month, with some parents arguing against restrictions and school leaders sticking to recommendations from state leaders, public health experts and the scientific consensus.
So, Lantrip’s decision to require masks for now is not sitting well with some parents who showed up at NPHS around 7 a.m. Monday morning. After opening the protest with a prayer, the parents held up signs with messages such as “trash the mask” and “no masks.” The group wanted to encourage students entering the building to not comply with the mandate.
“They’re trying to get us to comply for the next thing, which is the shot,” parent Jill Jones said. “This is wrong on so many levels, and we want the kids to know they have rights.”
The parents feel the decision on whether or not their children should wear masks be left up to them and not district officials.
“Just give us an option,” Jones said.
Nearly as many law enforcement officers were on the scene as parents to make sure the protest — which also ended with the group holding hands and praying — didn’t get out of hand.
Officials from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and New Palestine Police Department asked the parents to move their protest back from the main building entrance so students could get into the school without interruption.
“It’s not that the parents aren’t allowed to gather, but we’re just trying to separate the protest and keep it from disrupting any normal school activity,” said Jessy Walley, an officer for the New Palestine Police Department.
He and the other law enforcement officials, including New Palestine Chief of Police Bob Ehle, were on hand and moved the group back several feet from the front door, which the parents agreed to do.
Parent Steve Deal was not pleased with the district’s decision to reinstate the mask mandate and took part in the protest. He plans to run for the school board, he said, to make sure his voice and others like his are heard on these types of what he called “major” issues.
“Masks are not a state mandate right now,” Deal said. “Our district officials are doing this on their own, and I don’t like it. They didn’t even ask for the parents’ thoughts on any of this.”
While some parents honked in support of the protest, another yelled out, “You’re better than this!” when dropping of their child, indicating their disapproval. Several students, however, stopped and thanked the parents for supporting a “no mask” motto, while other students wearing masks walked on past without saying a word.
Jones was upset when she learned the school’s principal, Jim Voelz, made an announcement to students Monday morning encouraging them to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“He crossed the line in my view,” Jones said. “We’re not allowed in the building, and who knows what else they’re saying to our kids.”
District communication director Wes Anderson said Voelz went over new protocols and procedures because of the new mask mandate and was only presenting students with options available so they could avoid contact tracing and being quarantined.
While nearly all students complied with the mask mandate, a small group chose not to wear masks. They were ushered into the school’s gym and asked to put on a mask or leave the school grounds.
One of the students, senior Nick Miller, was frustrated and walked out the school with his backpack on his shoulder.
“They told me to get the shot so I wouldn’t have to wear the mask, and I did that,” Nick said. “Now, they want me to wear a mask again, and that’s not right.”
Several students are circulating a petition in favor of not wearing masks and had gathered some 200 signatures as of Monday morning, the parents said.
Lantrip noted the mask mandate is fluid and could be relaxed when the percentage of students being quarantined and contact-traced drops out of range of the 20% threshold.
“Obviously 0% would be ideal, but that’s unrealistic,” Lantrip said.
Anderson noted Sugar Creek Elementary was also close to the 20% threshold of being shut down, but they expected several students back in the coming days that would lower that number considerably.
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COVID-19 data through early Monday, Aug. 23
Hancock County
- 224 new tests administered (Dec. 3, 2020-Aug. 22, 2021)
- 23 new cases (Aug. 22)
- 9% seven-day (Aug. 10-16) positivity rate all tests, 8.7% cumulative rate
- 0 new deaths
- 128,057 total tests administered
- 49,317 individuals tested
- 9,465 total cases
- 12.4% seven-day (Aug. 10-16) positivity rate unique individuals, 19.2% cumulative rate
- 153 total deaths
- 40,027 age 12+ fully vaccinated (60.2% of that population)
Indiana
- 21,257 new tests administered (April 17, 2020-Aug. 22, 2021), 6,114 new individuals tested
- 1,685 new cases
- 10.8% seven-day (Aug. 10-16) positivity rate all tests, 8.4% cumulative rate
- 0 new deaths
- 11,912,467 total tests administered
- 3,826,745 total individuals tested
- 825,549 total cases
- 18.8% seven-day (Aug. 10-16) positivity rate unique individuals, 21.6% cumulative rate
- 13,828 total deaths
- 435 total probable deaths
- 51.2% ICU beds in use – non-COVID
- 22.1% ICU beds in use – COVID
- 26.7% ICU beds available
- 17.9% ventilators in use – non-COVID
- 8.2% ventilators in use – COVID
- 73.9% ventilators available
- Hospital census: 1,857 total COVID-19 patients (1,550 confirmed, 307 under investigation)
- Delta variant: 97% of samples in August
- Not variant of concern: 2.1% of samples in August
- Gamma variant: 0.6% of samples in August
- Alpha variant: 0.3% of samples in August
- 104 total confirmed cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
- 3,053,439 age 12+ fully vaccinated (52.1% of that population)
- 9,922 breakthrough cases (0.327% of fully vaccinated individuals)
- 272 breakthrough hospitalizations (0.009% of fully vaccinated individuals)
- 83 breakthrough deaths (0.003% of fully vaccinated individuals)
Source: Indiana Department of Health
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