Parents in Vail, Arizona Did Not End Mask Mandate
The Claim
Hundreds of parents in Vail, Arizona voted in a new school board and effectively ended mask mandates.
Emerging story
Arizona’s Governor recently removed mask mandates for schools in the state and left it up to individual districts to decide on their own requirements. On April 27th a school board meeting in Vail, Arizona intended to discuss their plans. Anti-mask protestors disrupted the meeting and it was cancelled. A video spread on social media showing parents upset over the cancelation, including one woman yelling, “You are killing our children,” and one person, referring to a 14 year old, “He’s brave enough not to wear a mask to school tomorrow.”
Although the meeting was canceled, parents went on to stand in the hallway and vote among themselves to elect a new school board. On April 28th reports began cropping up that the parents had successfully taken over the school board and voted to end mask mandates.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s analysis shows that the group did not succeed in reelecting the school board, or changing mask requirements. School board member’s names remain the same on Vail School District’s website, and further meetings are scheduled to be performed virtually. Also, Arizona’s School Boards Association outlines that elections are held every-other-year and special elections are held if needed for vacancies. If the entire board had resigned, special elections would have to be held to elect new members, and they would be “called by the county superintendent of schools.” None of that happened in the impromptu event held by the parents.
The group behind the protest, who call themselves “Freedom Fighters Group,” claim that their actions were legitimate because of a policy called Robert’s Rules of Order. A lawyer local to the kerfuffle explained to KGUN9 news that the rules cited by the group do not support their claim and, “don’t have the legal impact of supplanting Arizona law and removing elected officials from office.”
On April 30th the Vail School Board Superintendent, John Carruth, said in a letter to all parents, “All students K-12 must continue to wear masks while indoors and while riding district transportation.”
