Hamilton public school board trustees pass temporary indoor mask policy after tense meeting

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB)trustees passed a motion late Monday to implement a temporary, indoor masking requirement in all schools, with no restrictions for anyone who wants to opt out.

While some members of the public criticized the motion for having no opt-out restrictions,trustees said having a masking requirement in place at all even one that seems toothless would lead to more masking and subsequently,safer schools.

Passing that motion made HWDSB the first school board in Ontario to implement a masking requirement in months.

The decision comes two weeks after the board strongly recommended students and staff mask indoors.

It also came after a long, tense meeting that saw security eject some hecklers opposed to masking from the gallery at HWDSB headquarters.

A Hamilton Police Services vehicle was parked outside the building, in case the meeting was overtaken by disruptive behaviour and security concerns, which is what happened ata recent,dramatic meetingoftheOttawa-Carleton District School Board.

At least 60 members of the public, almost all of whom were opposed to masking, sat in the galleryand watched the nearly four-hour meeting.Some of them, including children, held signs that read things like "Smiles Rule, Masks Drool."

A handful of spectators supported mask mandates, with two people waving signs.

Almost all trustees attended the meeting in person and most wore masks.

Trustee Kathy Archerattended online. Trustees Becky Buck and Amanda Fehrmanwere at the meeting in personbut didn't wear masks.

Numerous spectatorswanted to have a five-minute delegation at the meeting, but the board's rules limit delegations to three per meeting.

Among those who spokewasDr. Joe Oliver, a local pediatrician.

"It's not hyperbole to say we're not deciding on masks, but on how many kids' lives are changed or shortened or ended," Oliver said.

One delegate who spoke out against masking said a mandate wouldn't solve the crowding issues at hospitals and would make it more challenging for some children with specialized needs.

Trustees consider masking amid heckling

After the delegations spoke, HWDSBstaff presented some public health information, as well as other considerations for imposing a mask policy.

A survey from the board showed that sincestrongly encouraging masking as of Nov. 21,a little more thanhalf of board administrators reported noticing a slight increase in masking in classes.

Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini, the HWDSB's director of education,noted that there's no broader mandate from the provincial governmentor public health, which was one of the reasons a motion for a mask requirement was deferred two weeks ago.

Hamilton's medical officer of health strongly encourages masking indoors but has also said there needs to be a regional approach for masking to be most effective.

The HWDSB presentation also indicated thatsupplying more masks for students could cost up to $500,000 per month.

Other considerations included how staff would be able to implement the policy, creating a "barrier-free" exemption process and thepotential divisions between people in support of the policy and those against it.

Trustee Graeme Noble originally introduced amotion to impose a mutli-faceted indoor masking policy, which drew heckles from the crowd and questions from various councillors.

Despite it being more detailed than the motion that ended up passing, he said he still didn't feel it went far enough.

Trustees Paul Tut, Sabreina Dahab,Elizabeth Wong and Maria Felix Miller all voicedsupport for Noble'smotion, while board chair Dawn Danko and trustees Becky Buck and Ray Mulhollanddid the opposite.

Student trusteeGloria Li said the general sentiment among students is they're tired of mandates. She said they'd need something with a timeline, few consequencesand something staff and families would rally behind.

Who voted for and against indoor masking

Tut said the school board needed to show "courage," which prompted people in the galleryto heckle.

Throughout the night, security escortedroughly five hecklers out of the meeting. A few others walked out on their own.

But it wasn't all jeers.Mulhollandwas cheered after sayinghe'd oppose the motion because he"strongly believes in parental choice." Buck also received praise from the crowd after saying the requirement would cause "chaos."

The crowd got loud enough that trustees after several warnings paused the meeting for five minutes and had about half of the spectators leave the gallery.

Upon their return, trustees ended up with a much simpler motion the current mask requirementintroduced by trustee and former chair Todd White.

Mulholland didn't return tothe meeting.

With Danko andRobinson Petrazzini both being satisfied with the language, the motion went to a vote.

Dahab, Danko,Felix Miller,Noble, Tut, White and Wong all voted for the motion. Archer, Buck andFehrman voted against the motion.

White told CBC Hamilton that the masking requirement isn't effective immediately and will likely take a few days to implement.