Complaint filed against Peaster ISD superintendent for not enforcing COVID-19 masks
Peaster ISD has opted to not enforce face coverings as it prepares to reopen for fall classes, prompting two parents to file a complaint with the Parker County school district.
Kjersti Powers and her husband Frank — who have two students in the district — filed the complaint July 31, four days after meeting with Peaster ISD Superintendent Lance Johnson to discuss their “concerns with his lack of health and safety standards” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Star-Telegram, but he told the Weatherford Democrat that safety is his number one concern.
“Safety is our top priority, and we do not believe that our students or staff will be in harm’s way, as recent illnesses have had little impact on our community,” Johnson told the Democrat. “We can continue to provide a safe learning environment face-to-face in Peaster ISD, meet the expectations of parent choice from our community and board of trustees, and continue to provide a free and appropriate education as required by federal statute.”
The Powerses sent a memorandum to Mike Bowling, Peaster ISD’s board of trustees president, along with the complaint and claimed that Johnson told them he wouldn’t enforce face coverings because there is a federal program called Free Appropriate Public Education that would allow him to disregard Gov. Greg Abbott’s orders. Bowling did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Free Appropriate Public Education requirement protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, and it is unclear if it would allow for the district to be exempt from Abbott’s order. There have been no other school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex that have been reported to cite this requirement in an effort to circumvent Abbott’s order.
Abbott’s order requires most Texans to wear face coverings over the nose and mouth when inside a commercial building or space open to the public, or when in an outdoor space when it is not feasible to maintain 6 feet of distance from another person not in the same household.
The Texas Education Agency also requires schools to follow the order.
In a July 28 Peaster ISD Town Hall, a slide show was presented detailing the district’s response to slowing the spread of the virus. This included sanitizing classrooms and high-touch areas, self-imposed screenings for symptoms, protective shields for teachers, and face coverings being given to those who need them, while supplies last. In the slide show, a footnote stated that COVID-19 data, the return to school, or face coverings would not be discussed.
The town hall was held in-person, the Powerses told the Star-Telegram, so they did not attend. They felt it was a way to suppress concerned voices such as theirs.
Peaster ISD’s first day of in-person classes will be Aug. 19, with the district choosing not to delay in-person classes like some districts have done in the state. The district will offer both in-person and virtual instruction. Weatherford ISD will begin in-person and online classes on Aug. 20, while Fort Worth and Dallas ISDs have opted to spend the first four weeks online.
The parents also claim that Johnson said COVID-19 is not a serious threat, citing a relatively low number of cases in Parker County and saying both he and his daughter recovered from the virus and there have been multiple events in Parker County where people haven’t worn masks. According to the complaint, he also questioned why the same attention isn’t brought to the numbers of abortions conducted in Texas.
As of Wednesday, Parker County has reported 1,329 COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths, according to county data. There have been an estimated 1,275 recoveries.
Parker County Emergency Management Director Sean Hughes told WFAA-TV that the Peaster school district policy violates Abbott’s order. Hughes said county officials are working to get the district in compliance, and he has not heard of any other districts out of compliance in Parker County.
The Powerses also wrote that when they arrived at Peaster ISD’s administration building to meet with Johnson on July 27, he wasn’t wearing a mask. Johnson told the parents he wasn’t sick and he didn’t believe masks slowed the spread of the virus, according to the memorandum they wrote. They also noticed no employees in the building were wearing masks.
The parents then asked if the employees had been recently tested for the virus or if temperature checks were being administered. Johnson told them no and that the district relies on a self-screening policy, where employees should stay home if they don’t feel well, according to the memorandum.
This prompted the parents to ask for the meeting to be moved outside.
Johnson then questioned why masks aren’t mandated during flu season and told the parents the infection and death rate of the flu is higher than COVID-19, the Powerses said.
The parents wrote that Johnson made anti-Semitic remarks by saying, “If a mask mandate actually kept people safe, why wasn’t there a mandate to force Jews to wear masks with swastika symbols to keep them safe.”
The Powerses, who are retired from the Air Force, told the Star-Telegram that at one point Johnson asked them why they believed the virus was a serious threat when they come from a military background and should be smart people.
Throughout the meeting, they were left speechless.
In the past couple of days, Bowling has taken to Facebook to voice his support for Johnson. He posted a “I Stand With Mr. Johnson,” profile picture and has linked to a change.org petition asking the Peaster ISD community to stand with Johnson. This petition along with other articles written on the situation have caused the Powerses to be singled out among the community.
In an interview with the Star-Telegram, the couple said they are appalled with the lack of leadership showcased from both Bowling and Johnson. As of now, they are not planning to send their children to in-person classes.
While the safety of their children prompted the couple to speak out, they also were worried about their community and what effects not requiring masks would have. They felt a sense of duty.
“If you see something, you say something,” Frank Powers said.
Now that the complaint has been filed, the couple wants the school leaders to be held accountable for their actions.
In an email to the Powerses dated Aug. 2, Johnson apologized for anything hurtful or inappropriate he said during their meeting. Because the issue is not campus related, Johnson wrote, a hearing about the complaint will be held with him. If the solution they seek is denied, a hearing can then be held with the district’s board of trustees.
