North Penn School District’s mask order for students came under fire again during Thursday night’s school board meeting, just days after an image showing a teacher taping a mask to a student’s face went viral.
The image was initially shared on Monday night by the North Penn Stronger Together Facebook page, along with a call to action for residents and parents to address the issue with the school board and district administration. Attention surrounding the incident increased when Florida-based political strategist Chuck Callesto sent a tweet about the incident to his more than 290,000 followers, which lead to national media pick ups by Sean Hannity, Fox News and many other media outlets — much to the chagrin of the student’s mother.
During Thursday night’s meeting, North Penn School Board President Tina Stoll addressed the image and its affect the incident has had on the student and his family.
“We acknowledge an image was taken in one of the district’s classrooms that is being circulated on social media that shows a mask being taped to a student’s face. First and foremost, I would like to extend an apology on behalf of the district and the board of school directors to the student involved and his family,” Stoll said. “They did not ask for this incident to occur nor do they deserve the negative attention it has brought.”
Stoll said the district immediately took steps to investigate the incident and wants to prevent acts like that taking place in the future.
“Accountability is paramount to this board,” Stoll said, “as is the communication and responsiveness with the family of the student involved. Their input helps to guide the district’s actions.”
Stoll said the district is fully cooperating with the efforts of local law enforcement.
“Although it has been determined it has been an isolated incident and no malice was intended, the actions of this employee were unacceptable, no matter the context,” Stoll said. She continued that the board was confident in the administration addressing the situation as a serious one.
She said all student and personnel matters are confidential and the board cannot comment further on the issue.
“To be clear,” Stoll said, “the actions of this employee were inappropriate. This incident does not accurately reflect the tremendous efforts our employees have made to ensure our school remains a safe and welcoming environment. This board will continue to support such efforts to ensure our schools remain open and safe.”
Board Solicitor Kyle Somers then read a statement from the family of the student involved in the Pennfield Middle School incident. You can read that statement, exclusive to North Penn Now, here.
After the public comment period opened, some parents expressed their displeasure with the specific incident, chastising the board and wondering aloud how an incident like that could happen. However, much of the public comment period returned to the issue of masking orders in the district,
A Lansdale resident named Pauline B. said the district and the county were not following science.
“The reason for this prolonged mask wearing issue is because you’re getting money,” she said. “So far, it’s $1.6 million that North Penn School District has received, and there is more.”
It does not make sense to keep schoolchildren in masks, she said.
“It doesn’t make sense for a teacher to get so hysterical, she has to stick tape to a child’s face,” she said. “And this money – you have a lot of leeway on how to spend it. That’s another impetus to keep these masks going. Read your updated policy, it’s a joke! That’s what’s a joke: It’s so convoluted you can’t even understand it.”
Hatfield Township resident Samantha Ferry called the board “despicable.”
“Although I’m glad the district admitted taping masks to child’s face is completely unacceptable, as parents and taxpayers, we deserve to know how the situation is being handled,” Ferry said. “We heard the teacher, who is a special education teacher, is not arrested for child abuse nor fired. She’s just not allowed in the room with this child. What about other children that are in her presence?”
Ferry said that just because the child’s parent has decided not to take further action, it does not mean other parents want the teacher to continue to be around other children. She claimed the district “pushed under the rug” a 2016 school shooting threat incident at AM Kulp, and that is just one of a few other things.
“You allowed child porn in school libraries. You are confusing children with sexual identity and gender fluidity,” she said.
Lansdale resident Jan Gad wondered why the public does not enforce masks, if all masking is for public safety.
“Meanwhile, the school enforces unconstitutional masking. This isn’t about public safety,” she said. “It’s about control … it’s about controlling our children’s minds. For you to continue with this charade is beyond comprehension.”
Dana Blaso, a parent in Moms for Liberty, asked why the orders are kept in place when the county Department of Health and the State did not follow protocol.
“No one is following the CDC, FDA, or WHO anymore. Maybe because the whole Covid narrative is crashing? It’s taking away freedoms,” she said. “What does Antifa mean? Anti-family. That is what’s happening here. Weekends are freedom, weekdays are tyranny.”
North Wales Borough resident Emily Johnson said North Penn is extremely diverse and brags about it.
“I don’t know what squashes diversity more than to require every child, faculty and staff member to wear a mask without any choice on the matter?” Johnson said. “The size of the virus particle is 40,000 times the cross section of human hair. You think masks are helping that? I don’t.”
Vicky Flannery, of North Wales, called herself “your neighborhood friendly Moms for Liberty Chapter chair”
“I know you all hate us,” Flannery said. “I come to you with concerns of parents on how you are running this district … We have brought to you concerns ranging from numerous pornographic books at all levels of our school libraries, privilege walks in fifth-grade classrooms, repeated issues in the special education community, and now an assault on one of our students by an ill-advised special education resource teacher.”
She said the district has a long history of intimidation tactics carried out by the district community, especially Stoll.
“I’m here to tell you the parents in this community will never stop standing up against your abuse of power,” Flannery said.
Prior to adjournment, Director Jonathan Kassa made a statement about respecting victims’ rights, something he said he feels strongly about, as he helped run a national nonprofit serving victims of heinous crimes across the county.
“I am appreciating the passion everyone has for the safety of all students in North Penn and throughout our community. One aspect we can all agree upon … is the bipartisanship and everyone agrees about victim advocacy and victim rights.”
“The worst thing to do to a victim of any incident is to take away control. That is for victims and families to decide as part of their pathway forward, for healing, for justice,” Kassa said. “One of the most awful things done to victims is to take away their narrative, to take away their voice. When that’s done, an apology is owed to that victim.”
See also:
Exclusive: Mother of Pennfield Student Involved in Mask-Taping Incident Speaks Out
North Penn Issues Statement After Image Surfaces of Teacher Taping Mask to Student
Pennfield Social Studies Teacher Passes Away on Christmas After Short Battle with COVID-19
Pennfield Basketball Player, Coach Honored By Sixers
Police, School District Officials Respond To Petition Questioning School Safety
