Parents tell Fargo School Board to get rid of masks; board tables motion for now

FARGO – The Fargo School Board heard from parents upset about student mask mandates who said they should be the ones who make decisions about whether their children wear masks.

Cassandra Schmidt was among frustrated parents who represented about one-hundred Fargo school parents in a Facebook group called, “Let Parents Decide That.”  She said, “we have to ask ourselves what are these masks being used for.”  She said medical choices for children belong in the hands of parents.

Board member Dr. Tracie Newman warned that dropping mask use would be a mistake because the virus still continues to spread. She noted that Moorhead Public School freshmen students are being quarantined and working with distance learning for the next 10 days due to the high number of COVID cases reported there.

School Board member David Paulson introduced a motion to end mask mandates May for playgrounds at elementary schools and with outdoor activities at middle and high schools but it failed.

A second motion passed 7 to-2 to table the motion for later discussion and take it up at the May 11 board meeting.