The dishonesty of the school board and its superintendent is shocking

To the Editor:

The dishonesty of the Delaware Valley school board and its superintendent are shocking. They have schemed with parents to fabricate student disabilities to avoid those students having to wear a face mask in school. All a parent need do is lie about their child’s disability in a note to the school to secure a school-year long face mask exemption. No doctor’s proof necessary. That phony note, will of course, be a part of the student’s permanent record.

Imagine being questioned about that lie in later years?

I wonder how many phony disabled parking passes the board will hand out next?

What makes the school board believe that they exemplify good citizenship to our students? Are they projecting honesty by encouraging parents to lie, and are they teaching the principles of democracy by defying the duly elected Pennsylvania state government? Are they teaching our kids that if you cannot get what you want with the truth, then lie?

In fact, the DV board is disregarding the rule of law and science and substituting their own misguided far-right, anti-science ideology to govern its actions. That is akin to fascism. The same kind of lawless far-right, flag waiving fascism this country endured on January 6th.

Time and again board members Jack Fisher and Dawn Bukaj quoted studies that had been withdrawn by the Journal of American Medicine. Their comments at the board meetings revealed that they lacked even a basic understanding of Covid.

Ms. Bukaj thrilled the anti-mask group when she repeated an old hackneyed trope, ”Healthy kids don’t spread germs.”

Apparently Ms. Bukaj was not paying attention when the CDC explained to us nearly two years ago that the reason the Covid-19 pandemic has spread so quickly and so far is because those who get infected don’t feel sick for three days. So during those three healthy-feeling days, those seemingly healthy kids are indeed spreading germs to their classmates.

This board fails to recognize that we are a country ruled by laws and not by the prejudices of those in power.

This board has decided that they, and not the authorities of state government, who were lawfully elected to make these decisions, will decide who must wear a mask.

Certain members of the school board are so convinced that masks will not prevent illness, will not save lives and that mandating masks in accordance with the lawful directions of the state will cause harm, that they feel compelled to defy the state government.

But what is the basis for the Board’s monumental decision to defy the law?

I know this:

It is not based upon science,

It is not based upon keeping your kids as safe as possible in school.

It is not based upon making sure that your kids are able to go to school and get the education they need.

What the board has actually done is to give a group of several hundred fanatical, anti-vaccine, anti-mask, anti-science, Alex Jones devotees permission to send their infected children to school without masks where they will be super-spreaders. DV schools have already had over 80 covid infections this year — ten times the number of infections at this time last year.

You should be very angry.

We now have an opportunity to put people on the school board who will put the safety of the students first.

They will follow the law and will rely upon science.

And most importantly, they are principled enough to stand up to the political pressure of a horrendously misinformed mob at a school Board meeting.

Please vote this year.

We need Meg Rosenfeld, E.K. Guyre and John J. Johnson on our School Board-for our children’s safety.

Vern Lazaroff

Milford