Masks In Mountain Brook Schools: Parents Take Sides

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL — The coronavirus pandemic has not only caused nearly 12,000 deaths in Alabama, but it has also caused significant division among multiple communities as it relates to social distancing, vaccines and masks. Parents spoke on the masking subject Monday night at the Mountain Brook Board of Education meeting, covered by the Alabama Reporter.

Mountain Brook Schools made masks mandatory indoors to begin the 2021-22 school year, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the state. The delta variant of the virus, a much more contagious form of COVID-19, has caused hospitalizations in the state to skyrocket. In fact, the state's hospitals no longer have any ICU beds available.

However, the manner in which residents are supposed to proceed with handling the pandemic has become a political matter in the U.S. And the wearing of masks has been a hot topic, especially in schools.

"Our goal was to start the school year without masks,” superintendent Dicky Barlow said at the Board of Education meeting. "But due to the surge in cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19, which has already struck Mountain Brook students and teachers, the decision has been made to continue moving forward with the mask requirement."

Related: 48 Positive COVID-19 Cases Reported In Mountain Brook Schools

Parents who oppose the school system's mask policy spoke out against the policy. mostly saying they preferred that the decision to have students wear masks be left up to parents.

Other parents supported the policy, and some physicians were on hand to back up Barlow's decision to require masks.

Read the comments made during the recent Mountain Brook Board of Education meeting in the Alabama Reporter.