Police will be on hand at the next meeting of Topsham-based Maine School Administrative District 75 as a safety measure as parents opposed to the district’s mask mandate have pushed back against the rules, according to the school board chair.

Holly Kopp abruptly adjourned the Feb. 10 school board meeting within minutes of it starting because four students present in the gallery were unmasked. District policy is that audience members, staff and board members wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Kopp said it was unfortunate to have a meeting disrupted.

“I spoke with the mother prior to the meeting to offer her and her children masks and to make them aware of the mask mandate,” said Kopp. “I also politely asked that she comply so that the meeting could occur. I also let the mother know that without compliance, I would not be able to start the meeting. Again, this conversation occurred prior to the beginning of the meeting.”

Kopp continued: “After the pledge of allegiance, I noticed that not all audience members were masking. I asked them to mask, but they chose not to mask, and therefore the meeting was adjourned. This has been the protocol for months, and until last (Thursday) evening, all participants have been willing to wear a mask.”

“They should have carried on with the meeting instead of adjourning it,” said Craig Caffrey, who has two children in the district and who attended the meeting. “It proves a point that it has never been about the health and safety of our kids, but it has always been about controlling them. Kids were not endangering anyone.”

Caffrey continued: “I have an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old in the school system. Every morning, it is a fight with my 8-year-old to go to school because of the mask. Her mental health has severely declined, and I can no longer participate in this abuse of our children. I believe I was the last one to walk into the auditorium that day, and all the adults I saw were masked, and the only ones I saw unmasked were those kids.”

Kelly Merrill, whose four kids were unmasked at the meeting, said the board overreached.

“They took the mask, and I think one put his on, and the rest did not. They either put them on right away or not at all,” said Merrill. “They just kind of played with them and pulled them apart, and they just weren’t interested in putting them back.”

This is not the first school board in the U.S. to end its meeting abruptly because of unmasked members in the audience. Last month, a similar incident happened at the Placentia-Yorba Linda School board meeting in California. The president of the school board abruptly shut down a meeting after it began because people in the audience were not wearing face masks, according to the Orange County Register.

Last week, the MSAD 75 saw a decrease in COVID-19 positive cases compared to the week before. While there were 26 COVID-19 positive cases reported between Feb. 5-11, there were 74 cases reported during the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4.

In October, the school board voted 10-3 to continue universal masking at all MSAD 75 school buildings until the superintendent deems it appropriate to drop the mandate.

“I feel and always have that masking is a personal choice ‘My body, my choice,’ isn’t that the saying?” said Topsham parent Andy Wallace. “We think masking has had its time. We were not there to break the rule, and we were there to argue to end the mask mandate, and that is why all adults were masked.”

The CDC recommends that anyone not up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and are aged 2 or older should wear a mask indoors in public. The CDC also recommends universal indoor masking in schools for those aged 2 years and older to prevent the spread of COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status.

The MSAD 75 meeting has not yet been rescheduled.

Kopp said that the board welcomes public input.

“The Board welcomes all communication,” Kopp said. “In fact, the Board has heard hours of public comment regarding universal masking over the course of the year. The Board also welcomes all members of the public to meetings, including students. The overarching goal of the district is to maintain a healthy learning environment for all students and staff where students are able to maximize in-person learning.”