Hatboro-Horsham Parents Raise Concern Over School Mask-Wearing

HORSHAM, PA — Hatboro-Horsham School Board members this week debated, and subsequently passed, a health and safety plan for the 2021-22 school year, but not before getting an earful from a group of passionate parents who raised concerns over the potential for mandatory facemask wearing for schoolchildren.

One of the first individuals to speak during the public comment portion of the board’s July 19 meeting was Hatboro resident Jennifer Matton, who said constant mask wearing caused her daughter to become very ill and nearly die this past school year.

Matton said her daughter developed a very serious strep infection from having to wear a mask for six hours a day this past school year, causing her to miss most of her ninth grade year.

“It was devastating for us. She almost died,” Matton said during Monday’s school board meeting. “I directly relate all this stuff that happened to her in May to this constant mask wearing and this mask mandate that you have.”

Matton’s daughter had returned to school when in-person instruction resumed this past March; by May, she was hospitalized for a full month due to an autoimmune disorder linked to the strep infection. She was only able to attend school for three to four weeks, Matton said.

Matton asked the board to “really, really consider what you’re going to do in the fall,” adding that she expects the board to be “pulling the hammer down” on bullying related to those kids who cannot wear masks, or get vaccinated, for medical reasons.

“I’m hoping and praying that you guys are, like, really going to make a concerted to effort to make sure that these kids are not getting bullied,” she said.

Another resident, Chris Coval, referenced the board’s decision to “adhere” to the Montgomery County Department of Public Health’s recommended health and safety plan.

“Adhere means to be bound by,” he said during the meeting. “That’s the opposite of leadership.”

Coval said some surrounding school districts are choosing to “monitor” or “consider” the county’s recommendations. Others, he said, will rely on “best practices informed by state, federal and local recommendations.

“Leaders monitor, leaders consider,” he said. “Leaders evaluate, and then they make their decisions. They take diverse perspectives, they listen to the public, they poll their students, they poll their families.”

Another parent, who is also a Bucks County teacher, drew contrasts between recommendations by Montgomery County health officials and their counterparts in Bucks, who are taking an optional mask-wearing standpoint for students in that county.

Yet another parent said any mask mandate would negatively impact students, causing discrimination against unvaccinated children who may find themselves ostracized in school.

After the public comment portion of the meeting, school board member James Greenhalgh made a motion to make mask-wearing optional for the upcoming school year. The motion was seconded by fellow board member Tara Conner-Hallston.

However, Greenhalgh withdrew his motion after Superintendent Scott Eveslage confirmed that there actually is no mandatory mask-wearing provision in the county-recommended health and safety plan that was up for a vote.

Eveslage said the possibility exists that with guidance from the county health department, the district might have to “pivot” and "transition" to masking at some future time, but that for now masking would remain optional in the district.

Hatboro-Horsham plans to operate on an in-person instructional program five days a week in the 2021-22 school year, but there will still be an optional virtual program for parents who prefer to have their students continue to learn from home.

Addressing some earlier comments about some students experiencing past bullying due to mask wearing and vaccination status, Eveslage apologized to those families.

Eveslage then went on to say while masks are optional for now, the district would continue to monitor the situation with COVID-19, and that if county health experts do, at some point, recommend a return to mandatory mask wearing for students, the district would be prepared to act on that recommendation.

“We have successfully masked in schools before, and we can do so again if needed,” he said. “Let’s hope that’s not the case. We will always prioritize the safety of our students."

In the end, the board adopted the health and safety plan by a 7-0 vote.