‘It’s been a train wreck,’ parent says of school district’s mask policy
By Andrew James
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YANCEY COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — Yancey County Schools is the only district in the area that has not mandated masks, and some parents are asking the school board to make changes.
“So far, it’s been a train wreck,” parent Caleb Yarborough said.
Yarborough explained his son has an immune system deficiency, and he does not think school is safe for him.
“The school system has ignored the public, other parents who wish for masks, the parents who wish for virtual learning, we have been ignored completely,” he said.
Yarborough started an online petition asking for a virtual learning option for students in Yancey County.
According to Yancey County’s online COVID-19 dashboard, the school system had 42 active cases leading to 289 quarantines, as of Sept. 15. Requests for comment from school administrators went unanswered Thursday.
“It’s spreading a lot. There are lots of kids in quarantine, lots of teachers. There’s teachers out with the virus,” former Yancey County teacher Elizabeth Boulter said.
Boulter, who retired last October after 30 years teaching in Yancey County, has friends who still work for the school system who do not feel safe without masks in class.
“We have good schools and we have good teachers and we have great kids, and I feel like they deserve better, they deserve better than what they’re getting,” Boulter said.
Yancey County Board of Education has a meeting scheduled for Monday.
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