ORCHARD PARK (WBEN) - An at times contentious Orchard Park School Board meeting took place Tuesday night, as more than 50 parents against the statewide mask mandate organized prior to the meeting to make their concerns heard in front of the board.
The group entered the meeting together - many refusing to abide by the mask mandate - and once asked to by the board to put their masks on, most still refused.
In response, the board voted to go into executive session, and board members left the auditorium stage to a chorus of boos.
While the board was away, some of the parents were able to convince the others to relent and wear the masks, so they could at least make the concerns to the board heard, which the parents eventually agreed to do.
After a roughly 30-minute executive session, the board re-entered the stage and the meeting commenced with public comment, and as expected, the vast majority of parents in attendance expressed their issues with the statewide mask mandate in schools.
"The goal of tonight is to have parental choice represented," said Orchard Park parent and Athletes Unleashed Gym owner Robby Dinero, who coordinated the demonstration.
"We're not pro-mask, we're not anti-mask, we're not anti-vaccination, we're not pro-vaccination...we are pro-freedom. We want parents to choose how they care medically for their children. Who better than to care for the kids than their parents? The School Board, the superintendent, does not have the responsibility decisions for their kids - that's the parent's choice."
Of course, however, the mask mandate came from the state, not any individual school district. So why go to the Orchard Park School Board in the first place?
"I would love to see the superintendent and the School Board show leadership and not be sheep," Dinero responded. "They need to provide parents choice rather than kowtow to the government and say, 'Well, we're just complying.'"
"I think parents should be the key decision-makers in the health decisions of the children - it's as simple as that," added parent Steve Barlette. "We should not be deferring to county and state political authorities."
However, there were a couple parents in attendance who defended the mask mandate.
"I choose to err on the side of caution to keep our children safe and to keep them in school," said one parent.