SANFORD, N.C. — The chair of one school board said she's never seen parents so passionate about an education-related issue.
School boards have become the site of frequent protests against mask mandates
One board in North Carolina had to cancel a meeting after receiving a threat
The chair of the Lee County Board of Education says debate there has remained civil
Sandra Bowen was first elected to the Lee County Board of Education in 2014 after she said she felt there wasn't enough parental input on the board. Now the board's chair, she and her fellow board members have been on the receiving end of both praise and criticism for Lee County's school mask mandate for months.
Two hours before every board meeting, Bowen meets with the superintendent to go over the latest COVID-19 numbers and any other pressing matters on the agenda. State law requires each school board to review their mask policies once per month.
Bowen said it's concerning to watch how school board meetings elsewhere in the country have unfolded, with protesters heckling and even threatening board members. In September, the Moore County Board of Education canceled a meeting after members received threats.
“When you see civil servants being attacked verbally and being threatened with violence, that's just not the way we should be in America,” Bowen said.
So far, Bowen said things haven't gotten out of control at Lee County's board meetings. That scene repeated itself at Tuesday evening's meeting. Several parents criticized the ongoing school mask mandate, arguing it infringes on parents' ability to choose what is best for their children, and at least one parent accused the board of engaging in child abuse by continuing to enforce mask mandates. But the board did not face any threats or interruptions. Bowen said listening to pointed criticism is just part of life on an elected board.
“It's heart-rending sometimes to be told that you're abusing children when, certainly, that would never be our intent as a board,” Bowen said. “But at the same time, we know that that's someone's right to speak their mind, and we're glad that they feel comfortable coming and talking to us.”
The board struck a compromise at Tuesday's meeting. Members voted to continue the mask mandate but added a requirement that the board call a special meeting once COVID-19 spread in Lee County drops to moderate levels for 10 days in a row. Bowen said she wants there to be an end in sight for the mask mandates, and she was glad to have a metric for ending them.
