COVID-19 policies concern parents, students in Argyle Schools

ARGYLE – There is disharmony and discontent in the Argyle School District, not to mention growing frustration over the District’s COVID-19 policies.

To begin with, there are claims of hardship when it comes to students wearing masks in school all day long.

"It’s really hard to breathe all day," said Nicholas Tifft, a freshman. "The mask’s constantly a problem. Going from one class to another you’re huffing and puffing."

"By the time I get back upstairs, I’m like huffing and puffing like I got problems," said Cory Treverson, also a freshman. "Long-term, it doesn’t seem healthy."

"I feel that it’s child abuse to suppress oxygen flow from my child," Moriah Mathis asserted.

Mathis says she intends to home school her children for as long the mask mandate remains in place.

"I can’t see sending children to school doing something I know is not right," Mathis stated. "If a law is unjust, although guidance is not law, it is our duty and our right to stand up for truth."

Theresa Hempel’s great-grandchildren attend Argyle schools. She doesn’t like to hear stories about teachers being sent home for failure to get vaccinated.

"These kids that have had these teachers and the teachers have been laid off, what ever they did with them, how’s that going to affect these kids?" Hempel asked rhetorically. "Kids are depending on these teachers, and how are they going to replace them?"

Sources tell NewsChannel 13 that eight of the nine staff members sent home last week for failure to prove they’ve been vaccinated, were back at school on Monday.

Mathis still believes they’ve been discriminated against.

"We’re giving up our freedom for a false sense of security," she says,

One of the parents who spoke with NewsChannel 13 says she has a meeting scheduled with School Superintendent Michael Healey on Monday morning, at which time she will share her list of grievances with him.