Optional masking puts other students at risk

We are profoundly disappointed at the July 15 vote to move to optional masking for all D25 students and staff. It's a disappointment with regard to public health, the science behind masking, and for the transparency of input on what is a highly divisive issue in the D25 community.

In addition, it's a decision that puts our unvaccinated children at heightened risk in the final stages of the pandemic before a vaccine is available for the under-12 population.

With the evidence behind the efficacy of masking, we can be confident that students can safely gather for in-person education and school activities. Making mask-wearing optional puts us at the mercy of decisions made by individuals and families rather than on a collective footing before individual families can decide whether or not to vaccinate their children. Without masks required for all students until vaccination is available, all it takes is one child in a classroom to expose the entire class.

We're respectfully asking that the decision be reconsidered to include public input and a forum. Certainly, no one loves wearing masks. We get it. But it's one thing to mask until a better tool can be available for those who choose it, and another thing to put our community at the mercy of an aggressively vocal group that has, frankly, perhaps never had the best interests of the many in mind.

Finally, this is driving a further wedge in our community just as we should be coming together. We're appalled that following an election in which certain members ran on a platform of bringing us back together, a decision that so clearly ignores a large portion of our community's voices was made with no advance warning. We expect better from you all.

Jara Kern and Ben Burney

Arlington Heights