Ohio school board meeting ends after attendees go mask-free

, Spencer Irvine, Leave a comment

In the northern Akron, Ohio suburb of Cuyahoga Falls, school board meeting attendees refused to wear masks and it led to a sudden end to the meeting. The Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education meeting, held in Cuyahoga Falls High School’s library, was adjourned last week when police officers were called to enforce mask mandates in school buildings.

According to the local newspaper, the Akron Beacon Journal, the local police arrived at the meeting and reported that they did not arrest any attendee. Six people in the audience “were refusing to wear masks,” which is a school district requirement as of September 7, 2021.

Although the board meeting had barely started, the board members voted to adjourn the meeting and did not go over any of the business items on the board’s agenda. The board initially opened the meeting, took two recesses, and then voted to adjourn the meeting. The local newspaper reported the board meeting’s livestream only had audio available and one anonymous person was quoted saying, “Bullies are always cowards every single time.”

The police reported, “The Board of Education ultimately opted to adjourn the meeting and set it for a later date as the individuals were being disruptive to the board and the other occupants of the meeting.”

The school district said it will work to “maintain decorum and continue to carry out the functions of the board while seeking the involvement and contributions from the public, students and staff in the decision-making processes.” The mask mandate in the school district is up for extension or elimination on October 1.

This is not an isolated incident in Ohio nor is it an isolated incident across the country. The Beacon Journal noted that Ohio’ Summit County sheriff deputies were also called to a Nordonia Hills school board meeting over non-compliance over mask-wearing. Nordonia Hills is located north of Akron and south of Cleveland.

People’s patience with mask-wearing has worn thin in year two of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to countless videos of dissatisfied people expressing their distaste for mask mandates in recent months.