RSU 21 School Board Chair Art LeBlanc adjourned the school board meeting Feb. 28 after members of the audience refused to don face masks in the meeting room at Kennebunk Elementary School. Earlier in the day, there was a protest outside Middle School of the Kennebunks. Organizers estimated about a dozen people attended the event, which had been scheduled for 6:30 to 8 a.m. Courtesy Photo/Ryan McQueen
KENNEBUNK – A Regional School Unit 21 board meeting was cut short Monday after some people in the audience refused to wear masks in the building.
There was shouting and loud voices from some people in the audience.
The school board, which conducts its meetings at Kennebunk Elementary School, had set aside 30 minutes for public comment about the district’s mask policy. The public comment was to be followed by an update on CDC guidelines from Superintendent Terri Cooper and the district’s consulting physician Dr. Donald Burgess, but that did not happen.
About 10 minutes into the public comment, board chair Art LeBlanc called for a 10-minute break when some attendees seated in the audience declined to don masks when asked to do so.
LeBlanc and vice-chair Loreta McDonnell pointed out that people who did not want to wear a mask could attend the session online, via Zoom, and speak if they wished.
After resuming the session, the issue of mask wearing arose a second time and the tenor of the meeting escalated.
LeBlanc said the meeting would continue if people wore masks, otherwise, it would be canceled and rescheduled.
The school district has a policy of mask wearing in school buildings. LeBlanc said people could remove their masks when speaking from the podium. In a telephone interview after the meeting, he said he did so because speaking from the podium offered social distancing and that some people needed to be able to lipread.
During the session, LeBlanc pointed out that there was no physical distancing in the audience where people were seated, and again asked for people to don masks.
One man, James McMann, who was unmasked, said he would leave the room out of respect for those who wanted to be heard, and departed. He returned later, he said in a call after the meeting.
“I’m a little concerned about what is happening in the boardroom,” said RSU 21 director Ken Levesque, who was attending the meeting by Zoom. “I understand how people feel about this. I support what these guys are saying, but they’re stopping the business of the board and families aren’t going to get the updates they’re looking for,” because people are not wearing a mask. “We’ve got to frigging come together as a community, you guys.”
The conversation deteriorated.
“Don’t tell me how it works, I’m telling you how it works,” one man said in a loud voice when one of the school board members spoke about how to address questions to the board. He said there were eight community members behind him, waiting to speak.
School board meetings are structured with prepared agendas. In general, school boards and municipal boards tend to use Roberts Rules of Order, or modified versions thereof, when conducting meetings.
“You’re an idiot,” a man who did not identify himself yelled. It was unclear to whom he was addressing his remark.
“This meeting is adjourned,” said LeBlanc.
Earlier, when the public comment portion of the meeting commenced, a couple of people spoke about mask wearing.
Parent Adam Bean said his son has hearing issues and when teachers are wearing masks, he cannot read their lips. “People of all ages are more likely to misinterpret each other,” Bean said, in part, adding the negative effects of mask wearing tends to be ignored. “This will have long-lasting effects on children,” he said.
“It baffles me how the least affected age groups are the only ones forced to wear a mask,” said parent Ryan McQueen, who was an organizer of a mask protest outside Middle School of the Kennebunks on Monday morning before classes began. In an earlier conversation, he estimated the event drew about a dozen people.
McQueen said he sees the impact when children say they are tired and dizzy at the end of the day, and said teachers, principals and other adults are also impacted by mask wearing. McQueen said he emailed the superintendent and noted in her reply that she didn’t ask his son’s name, but provided an answer about the CDC guidelines.
A woman named Lana, who didn’t give her last name, spoke about 2020 masking guidelines, but was cut off when the argument about wearing masks during the meeting commenced.
McMann said after the adjournment he suggested to LeBlanc that a solution might be that the board meet for a listening session off school property.
LeBlanc later Monday said the next RSU 21 Board of Directors meeting would be held at 6 p.m. on March 7. He said he expected the public comment session would include the mask wearing topic. Cooper and Burgess are also expected to speak about the Maine CDC guidelines that, as of Monday evening, were being reviewed.
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