What is the matter with the Iowa City Community school board?

If school boards in Texas and Florida are brave enough to defy their fanatically anti-mask governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, why can’t a school board in a community like Iowa City defy the destructively anti-mask insanity of Gov. Kim Reynolds? Do we have a school board of cowards who will let Reynolds’ blind desire to become the running mate of the next GOP candidate for president condemn all of our children to exposure to COVID-19, some getting it, and some dying from it?

Reynolds has worked to diminish local control at all levels and she is advocating for parents to have “freedom to make their own decisions” about their family’s health, completely ignoring that this freedom to go maskless contradicts the health advice of epidemiologists and other medical professionals. Trying to blame the worsening pandemic on President Joe Biden is a crass and baseless claim.

Reynolds should accept her share of responsibility for the spread of the Delta variant, mandate masks, and require school staff and all students who are eligible for vaccination to be vaccinated.

In the absence of Reynolds failing to do the right thing, ICCSD should follow Mayor Bruce Teague’s example and declare a mask mandate for the schools. What hypocrites: proclaiming themselves to be pro-life when they clearly don’t care about children becoming ill and possibly dying from COVID-19.

When the ‘Ship of State’ has an ignorant, obstinate, and soulless captain, mutiny is required. As Ruth Bader Ginsberg said, “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes necessary.”

— Caroline Dieterle and Carol deProsse, Iowa City residents