Bailey, Niemerg Weigh In on Mask Issue

The Red Hill Board of Education at Bridgeport voted in May to make mask wearing for students and staff "recommended", but not "mandatory".

That drew the ire of the Illinois State Board of Education. In a letter dated May 26, Red Hill Superintendent Jakie Walker received a letter from ISBE Education Officer Dr. Ernesto Matias that read, in part, "Failure to observe and enforce the mask requirement in the District may result in ISBE taking actoin against the District's current recognition status." It should be noted that Superintendent Walker recommended against the action taken by the Red Hill board. 

The Red Hill school district is in the territory of State Senator Darren Bailey and State Representative Adam Niemerg. Bailey wrote a letter to Dr. Matias saying, in part, "The Illinois State Board of Education has made threats against one of the school districts I represent due to the decisions made by the locally elected school board, which is charged with making these decisions, and when I read the letter (from ISBE), I took that personally."

Bailey said, "It's past time to end the mask mandates on our kids. There is no science behind this, only politics."

Meanwhile, Rep. Niemerg said with Illinois open, there is no longer a need for a statewide mask mandate for schools.

Niemerg said, "With the state fully open, I believe mask policies should be decided at the local level. We don't need a one-size-fits-all policy for the coming school year. Local districts should have the ability to decide their own mask policy for the upcoming school year, especially given that children are at a very low risk for the virus."

In a letter he wrote to Governor J.B. Pritzker, Niemerg said, "Please bring the mask mandate at our schools to an end and allow school boards to make these decisions locally."