Tempers flared in Tennessee after a local school board approved amask mandatefor elementary school students, sparking a heated debate and tense protests in the school parking lot.

The Williamson County Board of Education on Tuesdayapproved a temporary mask requirementfor students, staff and visitors at all elementary school buildings and buses starting on Thursday through at least Sept. 21, the school boardsaid.

The nearly four-hourspecial session meetingheld to make the decision drew a large crowd, many of whom catcalled and heckled throughout, before the protests spilled out into the school parking lot.

“We know who you are! No more masks!” one man yelled as he followed another man to his car. “You can leave freely, but we know who you are. We will find you … You will never be allowed in public again. You better watch out.”

At one point, a sergeant with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office pleaded with the crowd to “be peaceful,” noting that he was away from his family and had been working a 17-hour day.

“I am begging y’all to be peaceful. We’re not trying to take away any of y’all’s rights,” he told a crowd of people who held signs that read, “My child my choice” and “Liberty.”

Though the mask mandate is not currently in place for the county’s middle and high schools, officials said the goal was to protect children under 12, who are not yet able to be vaccinated.

“We are not going to solve COVID. What we can do is mitigate it. This is a judgment call. There is no clear answer,” Superintendent Jason Golden said during the meeting, according to local outletWilliamson Home Page. “What we are recommending is the best judgment we have based on all the analysis we have.”

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“It was shocking,” he told the outlet. “I took my wife’s arm and I said, ‘Just remember, no matter what they say, these are the lives we’re trying to save.'”

He added: “I don’t see how anyone can [call me a traitor] when I’ve been on the front lines of this pandemic since the beginning, treating patients in rooms, unvaccinated for the vast majority, hoping I wouldn’t take it home to my family. And for someone to say that, it’s mind-blowing.”

“I was wearing a white coat and a mask. I think it was very clear what I was supporting,” said Duke, a surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center with four kids in the school system. “There were people screaming and threatening me, and I just couldn’t believe it.”

Board member Jennifer Aprea told Williamson Home Page that while she “hates wearing masks,” she voted to approve the mandate because the heart of the matter is “the safety of our kids.”

“It makes me really sad to see where we are as a community right now, to see the tension and the anger and the frustration. We’re all frustrated, we’re all sad,” she said. “We all want to do what’s best for our kids. That’s the bottom line. … I hate that it’s become politicalized because the heath and safety of our students is not a political issue.”

Board member Candy Emerson, meanwhile, voted against the mandate, which she called “sinful,” according to the outlet.

During the lengthy meeting, multiple people spoke up to express either their support or their disdain for the mask policy, including a parent and former Marine Daniel Jordan, who warned the board that “actions have consequences.”

“If you vote for this, we will come for you, in a nonviolent way,” Jordan said, according to CNN. “In the past, you dealt with sheep; now prepare yourself to deal with lions.”

On the flip side, medical professionals, including parent Jennifer King, a pediatric intensive care physician, emphasized the recent increase in cases among children due to the delta variant.

“As a pediatric ICU physician, we are seeing more younger previously healthy children admitted with respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome than we have in prior strains, as cases in children are on the rise,” she said, according to CNN. “This trend will only worsen if we don’t act now.”

A statement from Williamson County Schools Executive Director of Communications Carol Birdsong said that while “parents are passionate about their children’s education,” there is “no excuse for incivility,” according to WSMV.

Birdsong said it was important that her district give all families and staff “the opportunity to be represented and respected,” and that the district would “continue to work toward making sure all voices are heard and that all families, staff and community members feel safe sharing their opinions.”

Per the policy, teachers who are distanced six feet or more may remove their masks, and the school board will grandfather exemptions from the 2020-21 school year based on religion and health reasons.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status, given new evidence on the delta variant.

A recentCNN reportcited multiple studies that showed masks are, in fact, effective when it comes to reducing the spread of COVID-19.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky reportedly said last week that data shows that the places that are having issues with the virus are places “that are not taking prevention strategies,” namely masking.

According to data fromThe Tennessean, 56.31 percent of Williamson County residents are fully vaccinated, and 62.27 percent have received at least one dose.

source: people.com