An online petition calling for St. Johns County schools to impose a mask mandate when the new school year begins has garnered more signatures.
As of Sunday, more than 4,200 people had signed the petition -- up from 2,600 last week.
The petition cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation of universal indoor masking for all teachers and students regardless of vaccination status.
“How are we as a school district ignoring our current community conditions and recommendations by national and local health experts? How can we keep our students who are under 12, and don’t have a choice for vaccination, safe?” says the petition created by Heather Prediletto and her group Doctors & Community Members for Masks in St. Johns County Schools.
It goes on to state: “You may argue that children aren’t that affected and that they will be okay. I will argue that one severely ill child is one too many, and I’m not sure that this school board would want to take that risk. Would you risk your life by spending 8 hours a day in the schools without being masked or vaccinated?”
St. Johns County School Board member Beverly Slough said in a story published Monday by Florida NewsLine that “CDC recommendations are just that -- recommendations.”
“Our low cases lead us to believe that we are in good stead to not require masks,” Slough said. “We anticipate and look forward to a very normal school year with 100 percent in-person learning.”
Slough told News4Jax on Thursday that the interview with NewsLine was conducted nearly a month ago but did not say if her viewpoint has changed since then.
“Our district continues to closely monitor the situation,” she told News4Jax in an email.
For now, masks are optional for public school students in St. Johns County. The St. Johns County School District also made the decision to remove desk shields and get rid of temperature checks at schools for the upcoming school year that begins Aug. 16.
“The only protection they have is being taken away from them,” said parent Heather Prediletto.
Prediletto has two kids who are under 12, so they can’t get vaccinated. She’s scared for them to return to school on the 16th.
“People say, ‘go ahead and send your child to school in a mask. You have a choice’ but studies have shown that masks are only effective when everybody wears them,” said Prediletto.
Dr. Kirsten Dowling, a pediatrician in St. Johns, said she’s seen some of her young patients get severely ill from this virus.
“I’ve had a few with COVID ending up in the hospital. I’ve also had a few with MIS-C, which is the multi system inflammatory syndrome in children. I’ve had to send a couple to the emergency room for that as well,” said Dowling.
Dr. Dowling said that all students need to be wearing masks for masks to be effective.
“It’s going to protect all of those other people from potentially spreading the virus, and so when everyone is wearing it, that’s everyone protecting each other,” said Downing.
In May, dozens of people flooded what turned out to be a heated St. Johns County School Board meeting to call for the end of the district’s mask mandate. A petition posted around that time collected more than 2,200 signatures. The district later made the move to make masks optional as cases declined in the county.
The group for mask mandates said it plans to attend the next school board meeting on Tuesday to call for the change.
Florida’s Board of Education approved an emergency rule on Friday that will make private school vouchers available to parents who say a public school district’s mask-wearing requirements amount to harassment of their children.