Mask-optional protests outside Glenview schools

Some Glenview parents and children waged protests against wearing masks in schools following a downstate judge's Feb. 4 grant of a temporary restraining order ending Gov. J.B. Pritzker's mask mandate.

On Tuesday a protest was held outside Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, 1123 Church St. The school follows guidance by the Archdiocese of Chicago, which updated its policy on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, more protesters gathered outside of Westbrook School, 1333 Greenwood Road.

Westbrook School is a member of Glenview School District 34, which is among the more than 150 school districts statewide listed as defendants in the lawsuit initially filed in Macoupin County by attorney Thomas DeVore last October.

District 34 also has three families who are plaintiffs named in the suit. Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow granted the restraining order on Feb. 4.

"They are impacted by the temporary restraining order," said Cathy Kedjidjian, District 34 director of communications and strategic planning, on Monday. "So those students do not have to wear masks or are not subject to exclusion if they are close contacts to a positive case.

"However, we are maintaining our masking and other mitigations processes because in August the board voted and approved an opening plan that included these mitigations. That plan is in effect through the end of the school year," Kedjidjian said.

"As we await additional court rulings the district will maintain these protocols. However, we continue to monitor the environment and look for a safe, well-planned and comprehensive process to ease restrictions while still protecting staff and students."

She noted the uncertainty of districts not named as defendants in the lawsuit, since the suit also lists Pritzker, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

David Kolssak, a Wheeling resident with an eighth-grade student attending Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, was among the 50 to 60 people, including children, he said were protesting outside the school on Tuesday.

He said that after the archdiocese sent an email Sunday stating it would keep mask mandates in place, another email was sent by an OLPH parent asking if parents would support a mask-optional environment at the Catholic school. Sixty-three percent of the survey's respondents said they would support a mask-optional stance, Kolssak said.

"It's just really a divisive time, and the bottom line is we want to see our kids in school with smiling faces," he said. "There are kids that are in the first grade that have never seen the face of their teacher or the smiles of their classmates.

"I'm not asking for everybody to do it, it's just (to make it) optional. Parents should be allowed to parent their children, and if you want your child to wear one, that's your choice," he said.

Katie Tarpey, OLPH spokesperson, acknowledged that the Archdiocese of Chicago changed its guidance later on Tuesday, but said, "we will not comment on their words."

She also declined to comment on Tuesday's protest.

On Wednesday the Herald received an excerpt of the archdiocese's updated guidance from about 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Based on the current low number of coronavirus cases in its schools, the statement said, and with no schools having more than 3% of students testing positive for the virus - "and nearly half of our schools ... reporting no cases at all" - the archdiocese will make wearing of masks optional as of Feb. 10 in Lake County and most of suburban Cook County. All other COVID protocols will remain, the statement said.

Archdiocese of Chicago schools in Chicago, Oak Park and Evanston will still require masks, the statement said, "because local health departments have issued lawful orders that require them."

An Archdiocese of Chicago statement received Wednesday added that in schools where masks are optional, students coming out of isolation and quarantine must wear a mask on days 6 through 10.

"In addition," it said, "we will continue monitoring cases in our schools closely and, if we see significant increases in a classroom or an entire school, we may temporarily return to masks until those numbers go back down."