Ludington Schools Retain Mask Exemption, While Scottville Schools Vote Down Mask Mandate

[XLFD]

I've heard a fair share of students, teachers, and parents in the area bemoan the fact that Ludington and Scottville had mask mandates this school year.  A few accept the mandates as a good thing, but they inevitably have weak arguments and you may often see them down at the grocery store or attending school sports elbow-to-elbow with others and, often enough, doing so without a mask.

I have made my position known: following the science it's clear masks don't work to significantly stop community spread of the virus.  I would expect that most of those who contact me about the issue share roughly the same view, since those who have brought into the mindless propaganda that masks do work, generally aren't ones that would care to debate the science with me or anybody else with a view that's different than Dr. Fauci's or CNN's.

The Ludington School Board was set to meet at 6 PM on October 18th, and I decided I would continue bringing science lessons to them, like I had at two previous meetings.  Unfortunately, pointing to real science and debunking the health department's pseudoscience isn't likely to sway the opinions of the four board members who would mask our school's kids-- they're sadly invested in the mythology created over the last year, and removed from the established science that is out there, and has been out there for decades.

That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at the meeting early and saw an organized group of school kids with signs showing their frustration with wearing masks outside the Petersen Auditorium where the meeting was held:

This group peacefully and respectfully protested their cause the ten minutes leading up to the meeting, making it known that they wanted the mask mandate to be lifted.  For those unsure of how the student body thinks about Ludington's current mask mandate, it should be noted that there were no counter-protesters, and there still hasn't been any that has came to these meetings wanting to be masked.  

I had hoped to say my comments and then head into Scottville to speak at the city commission meeting (held at 6:30), but after roll call and a pledge of allegiance, Chairman Steve Carlson indicated that they would be conducting discussion items first, then have public comment, then have action items changing the usual order which has comments first.  

The board decided to retain their policy allowing for non-medical exemptions for mask wearing by a 5-2 vote with only Autrey and Nagle dissenting.  The current policy allowed parents to claim religious or compelling non-medical exemptions and some on the board (likely Nagle and Autrey) thought that it was a too-liberal policy and wanted to end it.  Although their vote actually got rid of the religious exemption (on advice of their attorney that they could do this), member Josh Snyder introduced the new mitigation strategy as a compromise.  Since they did not wind up plugging the loophole, it was progress that was applauded by the anti-mandate assemblage, but did not cure the underlying problem that would get the school board some peace at future meetings:  removing the mandate.

By the time their discussion ended (48 minutes into the meeting), it was clear I wasn't going to be able to make the Scottville meetings.  The first to speak during public comment was a unified half dozen cadre of female students led by the young woman with a bullhorn in the picture above.   

She related her own personal tragedy of the last year and a half where she had went through a period of adverse mental health manifesting itself through a variety of complications.  Her sad story related the difficulties of not being able to see faces or the smiles of her friends and teachers and how that led to her own mental problems. 

It's a story that has been lived by millions of American students, undoubtedly lived by her five friends that went up with her, two of which allowed her to speak beyond the three minute time limit.  It was difficult for this reporter to listen to her story without tearing up, I've heard similar pleas from too many other people, school age and beyond.  Too many people do not realize the mental toll these mandates have on our kids, particularly those who are almost done with their school years and have to live through it with the impersonalized atmosphere of seeing themselves and their friends this way.  If you can't understand this, please listen to her 48 minutes in.  She has an impressive support staff in her fellow students.

Another group would speak as a unit representing an aggressive force willing to fight for mask choice and mentioning their willingness to use the FOIA and OMA to seek accountability from the school board.  I met with this other group of women before the meeting who all seem to be energized by the reluctance of the LASD to allow them to choose medical options for their children.  Tyranny breeds resistance.  

Others would speak out, Robert L. Williams would even defend the board and masks (while not wearing one, holding a holey well-worn mask in his hand while trying to make his case), spending four minutes on a rather disjointed argument.  It's a shame; as a proud veteran he should be more than willing to fight for freedoms and liberties, rather than removing them and giving more power to public bodies that decide to overstep the health departments policy of mask recommendation and instead impose mask mandates.

As noted, my comment was low on emotion but high with the stoicism of science.  The school board has shown it would rather use propaganda disguised as science than real science, but I hold faith that one day real science will once again be used by those now making policies that act against science.  Nobody wins when real science is repressed or ignored.

The school board's own actions betray their own hypocrisy.  While all school officials other than Scott Foster were on the stage virtue signaling by wearing their masks, they all shared one microphone.  Whenever one wanted to speak, the mike would be passed down the line going from one ungloved hand to the next and back again. 

Dudes, the science says Covid-19 can be spread through surface contact, your actions suggest that you are not worried about getting this virus through sharing a common microphone, so why are you forcing kids to wear masks that have been regularly shown not to be effective?  As my comment reminded them: 

XLFD:  "I attended a special board meeting on September 20 where they were to discuss in closed session and act on a Title IX appeal.  A board member tried to force me to wear a mask before this meeting, I reminded him that the board's mask mandate on students and school staff did not apply to visitors attending school board meetings.  The board masked the purpose of the closed session by not naming the officer who had requested it or the nature of the charges.  The former is a violation of the Open Meetings Act.  

Apparently this tyrannical board wants to cover up these rather frivolous charges made by Erik Bratschi of the maintenance department against Tyrone Collins of the operation department, just like they want to cover-up your child's face with their current mask mandate.  

And just like they had no justification to go into closed session at that meeting, they have yet to show justification for their current mask mandate.  At the last meeting, I spoke of gold-standard randomized control tests, and how zero have proved that masks work effectively to stop the spread of a respiratory virus, while 14 exist that show quite the opposite, that they have no significant effect on viral spread.  

The local health department, in denial of this established science, instead offered the school board ridiculously weak and inconclusive stats and studies that purported to show mask work.  Four of you learned people-- Nagle, Autrey, Reed, and Carlson-- naively accepted this simplistic tripe as justification to flex your authoritarian muscle.  If the goal of the health department was to give you the best science to make an informed policy choice, why would they not offer you any or all of these 14 randomized control tests and instead give you fatally-flawed, garbage science that all backs the same political narrative that flies in the face of the real science?  

No scientific study exists that shows a benefit from a broad policy to wear masks in public situations.  To the contrary, OSHA strictly regulates mask-wearing in workplaces, imposing rigid protocols precisely because mask-wearing for prolonged periods has very real, identified dangers associated with such requirements.  These well-documented negative impacts on health, including reduced oxygen, increased carbon dioxide, adverse skin reactions, and the triggering of latent viruses and/or bacteria otherwise dormant in humans, causing illness.  it is blatantly irresponsible policy for this board to impose this mandate in any form on our schoolchildren and school employees." [END comment]

While I'm more than willing to debate the school board on the issues behind their current misguided policy, they are unwilling to defend their tyrannical mandates using facts and science.  It's a fair assumption that they prefer to wear masks to hide the contempt they have with parents who want to exert their autonomy.  They would not consider the issue any more after the comment periods.

In other business, they would approve a resolution for the solicitation of bids for sale of the Foster School Property, approve the purchase of two, 10-seat transit vans from Hoekstra in Grand Rapids in the amount of just under $40,000, and approve Star Cleaning to provide the final cleaning of the new Ludington Elementary School before the building is occupied.  

Overall, this was a small victory for the forces wanting mask choice at LASD, but the school board could alleviate using the auditorium for their meetings (and silence all the voices of opposition, numbering over a dozen speaking at this meeting) if they embraced the parents, students, and employees that embrace their freedom to choose what's best for them in this situation. 

Scottville schools (MCC) had the issue come up again at their board meeting held at seven that night, and by the slimmest of margins, with the board president casting a tie-breaking vote that went the other way towards personal liberty this time due to the pressure of concerned students, employees, and parents.  If the LASD Board wants to meet in their boardroom, peacefully addressing the non-controversial mundane tasks coming before them, they could do the same.  Until then, they will receive constant reminder by our precious students and the rest of the community as to why the current policy is not acceptable.  

[Willy]

Well done X. The only time this insanity will stop is when people decide they must take back  control of the Government, schools and the media from the leftists and Marxists. Until that happens, this will never end. Things will continue to deteriorate and worsen. All of this has been predicted. Most people thought it could not happen here. Well, guess again. There are to many useful idiots who think like mini tyrants. We have them in local Government and on local school boards.  I'm sure the school board members think they are doing what's best for the children but they are part of those useful idiots doing the dirty work for Fascism but they think they are doing a positive service for the citizens and children. Uniformed, ignorant citizens and their representatives will be our downfall. What's so stunning is that the Left who are the Marxists and Fascists are claiming that Conservatives and the Right are the cause of America's downfall and half of the Country believes it, thanks to the corrupt media. Many folks have not heard of the Cloward Piven strategy. The playbook for overthrowing Capitalism and America.

[Tara Lange]

Sadly so many believe that the Covid19 vaccines are 100% safe and will prevent the spread of Covid19. It takes many years(sometimes decades) to develop a vaccine that has no long term side effects. The only one way that health officials can say that is if it they have prior to the pandemic of 2020 knowledge and studies about Covid19. It probably does work to some extent, but definitely not totally. If anyone wants the vaccine, get it. Same with masks if you want to wear then wear  one. But in no way should we be made to wear one.  

[XLFD]

Vaccines are a little off-topic, but not by much since mandates for them are sure to follow as government bureaucracies try to make our health decisions for us.  My choice is easy since I had a spot of Covid-19 back in September 2020 and my antibody count is far superior to what any of the vaccines would give me.  I also personally know someone who died from a Pfizer shot, and someone who had complications from a Moderna shot.  These are definitely 'experimental' vaccines since they use mRNA as their active ingredient, and this hasn't been shown to be very safe in prior trials.  I see lots of risks with no benefit, so I won't get the shot even with mandates, nor will I put up with any discrimination used against me for not doing so.

I went through circles for months with the health department trying to get information (by FOIA) on those who died in Mason County, with any personal identifying information removed, and they claimed medical privacy as their exemption for not sending me anything.  These same people would love to make you have to show a vax card to take part in society.  

[Willy]

A family member started college this fall in a Michigan public university. Last summer the student contracted Covid and was slightly ill for about 2 days. Before entering college this fall it was mandatory to have a Covid vaccine along with a booster shot. Then added on to that nonsense, the requirement was to wear a mask while attending classes. Where is the science or logic for these mandates forced on students? I challenge any leftist or Democrat supporter to bring forth  logical arguments or facts that would support this nonsensical action by schools, colleges and universities. Any supporter of these forced mandates is just plain ignorant. There are portions of the population that should be vaccinated but even they must choose for themselves. Forcing this idiocy on children is beyond insane, it's tyranny.

[Willy]

[XLFD]

George Carlin offered some guidance on why government-funded universities (I bet your college isn't Hillsdale) would choose such a path:  " Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation."

This is doubly true for government extensions, like public universities, who embrace socialism as a superior system.

[Willy]

George nailed it. Just wait until the vaccine for kids is released. Another mandatory requirement will be implemented. Line up the kids for a vaccine that is useless for them and may even cause them serious problems in the future.