The Page County Public School board held a meeting in which they were to listen to views concerning COVID-19 precautions for their schools, when Amelia King of Luray stepped up to the podium and began airing grievances. Among her concerns were how she didn’t have enough time to speak at previous meetings; however, at some point, she was cut off by a member of the board who informed her she had used all three minutes of her time.
Video of the interaction shows a visibly upset King then get to the point and zero in on the school’s mask guidelines. “Alright- no mask mandates. My children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on, alright? That is not happening. And I will bring every single gun loaded and ready to - I will call every-”
King’s remarks were promptly cut off again by a board member who said, “Mrs. King, that’s three minutes. You’ve gone past your time. It’s a policy. Thank you.” Unable to finish her remarks, King responded with, “I’ll see y’all on Monday.”
Although King later left the event, the members of the board sat in stunned silence, with one individual heard sighing, before the next speaker came in.
The school subsequently issued a statement on the unusual events, stating, “Violence and threats are never tolerated by parents or guests of our school division.” As an added measure, the school is communicating with local law enforcement, and is now taking actions to ensure an increase in police presence at Luray’s schools on Monday.
While wearing masks has become a political issue in the United States, Virginia’s newly inaugurated Governor Glenn Youngkin rolled back the health and safety efforts of his predecessor on his first day in office on Saturday, writing an executive order allowing parents to choose whether or not their children would wear masks to schools. The order comes in the middle of the latest spikes in COVID-19.
The CDC has repeatedly recommended that individuals wear masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. On January 13, 2021, the Old Dominion State had a 7-day average of 3,035 new cases of COVID-19. Now, exactly a year later, the state has a 7-day average of 18,782 new cases.
The school’s plan for preventing the spread of COVID-19 and maintaining the health and safety of students and teachers includes wearing masks, washing hands, ventilation, and contact tracing. As for tests, the policy states testing would be provided when available and “appropriate,” and also stated that vaccination for eligible people, including students, is encouraged.