Quincy Reporter

Quincy Public School District 172 Board of Education met Aug. 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Board of Education of School District No. 172, Adams County, Illinois, met in special session at 8:00 a.m. in the Quincy Senior High School, Cafeteria, located at 3322 Maine Street, Quincy, Illinois, in said school district.

Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by President Ali, who directed the secretary to call the roll. On the call of the roll, the following members were present and answered to their names: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following member was absent: None. Whereupon the President declared a quorum was present.

Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by President Ali.

Questions and Comments

President Ali opened the meeting to questions and comments to members of the Board, by members of the public and employees of the district, in compliance with state statutes.

Jody Cook spoke against masks and excessive Covid restrictions. She stated there has been studies that prove masks don’t work and believes it is illegal to mandate masks, testing, and the vaccine.

Lindsay Lane stated she was speaking on behalf of many parents in the community that believe it is important to hear that sometimes the loudest voices in the room are not necessarily the majority. She is thankful for the school board and employees. A gift card to Bailey’s was presented to the board as a thank you.

Chris Quinn voiced his opinion against masks, living in fear and worrying against funding district will lose. He asked that children not have to deal with masks for a second year in a row.

Nathan Nuttleman pointed out that many friends’ children in Chicago and St. Louis area didn't get that attend school in person last year and he is grateful that Quincy Schools were in session all year with in-person option. He would like for parents to have the choice of masking for children.

Tory Kaufmann expressed his opinion that the CDC guidelines strongly recommended a mask, but not mandating it. He verbalized his frustration and believes the psychological effects of wearing a mask are affecting kids.

Melinda Hall stated it is difficult for adults, much less kids to keep hands off masks and believes teachers do not have time to sanitize to prevent the spread.

Don Blickhan said that the Catholic schools in Quincy and across middle of the state allow parents to choose whether their kids wear masks.

Rochelle Howard believes the system is corrupt and masks cause more damage

Amber Smith handed out information on The Nuremberg Code and expressed her views on misinformation she believes being is being propagated by media and social networks. She stated that masks are harmful and ineffective.

First grade student, A.Q., talked about how kids don’t like masks and thinks kids and parents should have a choice.

Fifth grade student, Z.D., also expressed that kids don’t like masks.

Roni Quinn referenced HB2789 hasn’t passed and requested what disciplinary action would happen as she said her child will be coming to school without a mask.

Jeremy Allen believes Google is suppressing information and indicated he and his wife, who is a doctor, did lots of research when the stay-at-home orders were imposed using the duckduckgo.com search engine. He feels cognitive dissonance and corrupt government is a problem with Covid information studies.

Jennifer Bock Nelson is concerned with the rhetoric created by social media and mass exodus of public health officials during the pandemic. She said she is vaccinated and looks forward to the time when the FDA approves the vaccine for children under age 12.

Patrick Barry, parent of three children in Quincy Public Schools, stated he will not be sending his children back to school in masks.

Ryan Thurm, stepparent of a 4th grade student, referred to and read an article written by Marty Makary called “The Case Against Masks for Children”. The article he read indicated that results were inconclusive that masks reduce Covid transmission and could cause psychological harm and facial deformities. He believes in the choice of masking for kids.

Jen Wiemelt asked if exemption forms will be accepted and what discipline measures would be policy for children not complying with masking.

Tiffany, a nurse that works with Covid patients, believes kids statistically have a low rate of death from Covid and that suicide kills at a higher rate. She believes the Covid virus isn’t any different than the common flu and kids don’t wear masks properly which makes them ineffective.

Student, Q.G., a junior at QHS said he feels students are the school’s liability and they should have power to enforce masks.

Student, D.N. shared a story he was told of someone who planned to get the vaccine and didn’t because he was persuaded otherwise, and this person ended up dying from Covid.

Linda Haverstock, parent of three high school students, expressed her concerns about masking, including the emotional issues and suicide risk.

Consider/Approve Revision of 2021-2022 COVID Guidelines in Order to Comply with the Illinois Governor’s Executive Order on Masks in K-12 Schools

It was moved by Member Arns and seconded by Member Petty to adopt the Revision of 2021-2022 COVID Guidelines in Order to Comply with the Illinois Governor’s Executive Order on Masks in K-12 Schools (Doc. Reg. No. 3710). On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, Nichols, and Petty, and the following members voted Nay: McNay and Whitfield; and the following members were absent: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Executive Session

At 9:39 a.m., it was moved by Member Arns and seconded by Member Ali that the Board suspend the rules and go into executive session to discuss: a) the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the School District; b) collective negotiating matters between the School District and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees; c) the sale or lease of property owned by the District; d) student disciplinary cases; e) pending, probable, or imminent litigation; and j) attorney/client privilege. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None; and the following member was absent: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Resumption of Rules

At 10:32 a.m., it was moved by Member Petty and seconded by Member Ali to resume the conduct of the regular meeting under rules. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None; and the following member was absent: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Adjourn

At 10:33 a.m., it was moved by Member McNay and seconded by Member Arns that the special meeting adjourn.

https://www.qps.org/wp-content/uploads/81121specialmeeting-mask-req.pdf