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The school board is toeing the line on the state mask mandate.
At a special meeting Friday morning, all nine members voted in favor of rescinding previous decisions easing mask requirements in the district.
About 100 people, including the board members, district personnel, parents, students, and others were online for the meeting.
Five people signed up to address the board - four did so - all of them against the mask mandate.
First, the board approved, without discussion, a motion to rescind a previous decision to penalize by only warnings those who do not wear masks on district transportation.
The second vote rescinded a Sept. 13 motion that created a form parents, without need for medical documentation, could sign to exempt students from wearing masks in school. There was no discussion of that motion.
The third motion approved the district's revised health and safety plan.
During the discussion of that item, board member Marcy Morgan pointed out that "medical sign-off" is not necessarily required for mask exemptions under the mandate.
Stewart agreed, saying exemptions are handled through student 504 plans or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Both of those deal with students with identified disabilities.
The board also retained the services of Burns White Attorneys at Law.
All votes were unanimous with all nine members present.
At previous meetings, the board had had extensive discussions about the mask mandate. While some members argued that it was their responsibility to follow state mandates, generally, the members agreed that it was important to allow parents the right to choose whether their students should wear masks in schools.
That tone was missing entirely from the board on Friday, but it was present in comments from those in attendance.
"Here we are yet again stirring up parents," Bridget Schwab said. "You are not God. You are not even their parent. Shame on you."
In September "six school board members were united," she said. "You no longer believe that these parents should have the right to choose what is best for their child?"
She said she planned to remove her children from the district.
Warren Area High School student Gracie Gatto said she is "frustrated with how masking and quarantining are affecting our education," and that she has begun the process of enrolling in a cyber charter school that is not associated with the district.
Amanda Lindemuth asked that the district, if it must follow the mandate, "follow the order and not add to it."
She said the order "does not state that exceptions require… a signed doctor's note."
Jewell Rozanski said that by following the mandate, the district is depriving students and parents of liberty. She also asked for data related to the district's cases and close contacts that led to quarantines.
Morgan's comment during the health and safety plan vote was the only board discussion of any of the items voted upon Friday morning.
Board President Donna Zariczny said the board had met twice this week in private to receive advice from attorneys.
The Pennsylvania Sunshine Law allows agencies to deliberate issues related to litigation in private. The district was sued over the mask issue on Monday by a group of local parents representing district students.
The lawsuit asked for injunctive relief from the Sept. 13 school board action regarding masks.
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Paradise Baxter granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday afternoon.
"I would like to thank my fellow board members for their unanimous vote on this issue," Zariczny said in closing.