If only anti-mask parents would channel their energy into other aspects of education

You could call 2021 the year of parental involvement in Johnson County schools. Just look at the school board meetings. They’re chock full of concerned and/or outraged parents. But most don’t seem to be there to voice their feelings about AP class offerings or the need for more school aids or really anything focusing on actual education.

The main driver seems to be masks. Yes, meet the sure-fire way to get parents involved in their children’s education: a mask. Be it a N-95, a disposable mask or a cloth one featuring the Chiefs logo, masks have proven to be the catalyst to get a cross section of parents zealously dedicated to “getting involved.”

And I’m not talking involved as in volunteering to be the book fair chairperson. This “involved” is more about filing lawsuits, starting a “mask choice” LLC and staging protests and rallies outside of school board meetings.

Masks have even proven to be a campaign issue in the the upcoming Blue Valley School Board election. Local pediatrician Christine White became the darling of the anti-mask set when her opinion about masks in schools went against the guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatricians and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are pro masking in the classroom.

White had stated that she felt “masks should be optional for children” and campaigned against COVID-19 safety protocols. Then, just last month White (some conjecture, at the urging of the partners in her pediatric practice) reversed her decision and dropped out of the race. White insists that her mask epiphany was brought about by the Delta variant and not any outside pressure.

Now one might imagine that the multitude of folks, minus one former school board candidate, getting all up in the business of public education might result in an escalation of unprecedented parental involvement in the schools. It makes sense right?

If you have people with the time and money to form Limited Liability Companies, hire lawyers, organize rallies, and mobilize multiple social media campaigns, some with fundraising opportunities including Venmo, all related to masks in schools, that this would perhaps translate into these parents getting active at their child’s actual school.

Think of the monumental impact if that many parents started volunteering and fundraising for the schools their children attended. I was so excited by the prospect of this that I did some research. I started calling friends with kids in JoCo schools, PTO board members and even room parents to see if there had been a surge, a virtual tidal wave, if you will, of parental involvement in the volunteer ranks.

The answer was a resounding NO. As in absolutely not and it’s “hard to find a quorum for a PTO vote.” One parent told me getting volunteers for her child’s elementary school fall carnival was so “painful” they had to scale down the event.

OK, so maybe I need to rethink this. Maybe these parents that are so proficient at running to the courthouse and setting up various LLCs are not the classroom volunteer types of parents. Maybe they’re better at storming the state capitol in Topeka and making sure that money for public schools stays robust while they also protest attempts to divert education funds to school choice.

Umm — again that’s a no. The legislative session that wrapped this spring didn’t have a substantial uptick in any pro-public education groups from Johnson County.

Sadly, I feel many of these new “involved” parents are much more passionate about face coverings than they’ll ever be about fundamental education issues like increasing school funding and supporting some of the best teachers in the country. Why is this? I’m not really sure. But perhaps they’re masking their true motives.

Reach Sherry Kuehl at snarkyinthesuburbs@gmail.com, on Facebook at Snarky in the Suburbs, on Twitter at @snarkynsuburbs on Instagram @snarky.in.the.suburbs, and snarkyinthesuburbs.com.

This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "If only anti-mask parents would channel their energy into other aspects of education."