Angry parents routinely interrupted Argyle ISD Superintendent Telena Wright, school board members and district employees throughout Monday evening’s board meeting.
They contradicted district officials, started brief chants and yelled over speakers while advocating for board members to vote for removing the existing policy that requires most students to wear masks during much of their on-campus time.
Seventeen people signed up to speak during the board’s public forum segment Monday. Opportunities for public comment are required by state law. Public bodies are allowed to institute time limits on speakers, and board members are not allowed to respond directly to speakers’ comments.
Each speaker was given three minutes to state their case to board members, those in attendance and those watching the livestream.
Most of the speakers were parents of Argyle ISD students, and three were current students. Two of those students were seniors at Argyle High School, and they were also the only speakers to argue in favor of keeping the existing mask mandate.
Twelve speakers directly argued to make mask-wearing optional, seven spoke of various levels of trauma associated with the district’s mask policy, four directly argued for the removal or alteration of the district’s quarantine policy, and three argued masks don’t work or are otherwise harmful.
The wearing of face masks has been repeatedly shown to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19, which is primarily transmitted via respiratory droplets that are much larger than the virus itself.
Many speakers referred to Gov. Greg Abbott’s removal of the statewide mask mandate effective March 10 as a cause to remove Argyle ISD’s mask policy. The Texas Education Agency previously confirmed school boards could vote to do away with their district’s mask mandates.
Speakers were impassioned but largely respected the board’s rules during the public forum segment, with many greeted with cheers by those in the hall after they spoke.
Board members moved onto the rest of their meeting after roughly an hour of public comments, but it wasn’t long before parents began yelling from the halls.
Parents from the hallway yell over Argyle ISD Superintendent Telena Wright during her presentation.
“I don’t believe that any of us — not any of us — want teachers to have to teach wearing masks or want students to have to learn wearing masks,” Wright said in transition. “That’s not what any of us want or would have wanted, but that’s what’s gotten us through this year to this point — one of the many things.”
Hand washing and social distancing are also among the prominent steps that have helped the district, she said.
Less than three minutes into her presentation, just as Wright began to discuss TEA’s guidance on March 3, parents began to yell from the hall.
“This is what TEA continued to say on the third of March about health and hygiene practices regarding masks,” Wright said. “And when I say masks again, we’re just talking about facial coverings, whether that’s a shield, whether it’s a gaiter or whether it’s a mask.”
Argyle High nurse Sherrie Thompson speaks during Monday's regular school board meeting as parents intermittently yell over her from the hallway.
It was then that parents first could be heard clearly yelling.
“That’s a lie!” one man bellowed.
The outbursts continued despite the presence of Argyle ISD police officers. Those in the hall eventually began chanting, “Let the board vote!” Board President Sam Slaton asked AISD Police Chief Paul Cairney to tell them the board couldn’t discuss anything if they couldn’t hear the conversation.
Argyle Middle School Principal Scott Gibson said, based on a survey of teachers, roughly 70% of his teachers were in favor of keeping the existing mask policy through the end of the school year.
He also noted four middle school teachers quit back in August due to fear of the pandemic, so further resignations would be possible if the mask mandate went away.
Sherrie Thompson, head nurse at Argyle High, took her time during the discussion to address some of the misconceptions and inaccuracies she has heard regarding the district’s contact tracing, mask-wearing and quarantine procedures.
While many parents do the right thing and call school nurses, many others lie to her on a weekly or even daily basis, she said.
Argyle High nurse Sherrie Thompson speaks during Monday's regular school board meeting as parents intermittently yell over her from the hallway.
“I do not lie,” Thompson said. “I do not make up names. I don’t know the names of all 1,300 kids. I don’t hardly get out of my office because I’m answering emails; being yelled at, hollered at, being accused of this, that and the other on the phones.”
A woman from the hall then yelled out to accuse Thompson of accounting for false positive tests.
After an extended bout of yelling, Thompson said, “I’m a little scared to walk to my car tonight.”
Parents eventually seemed to simmer down after police spoke to them several times, and regular board business moved onto construction reports, fund allocations and other normal tasks by 9:30 p.m., which was a full 2 1/2 hours after the meeting opened to the public.
