WARREN, Pa. — Reaction among parents to the decision by a federal judge to grant a temporary restraining order on the Warren County School District’s de facto optional mask policy was strong.

The Times Observer asked for feedback from parents on the decision Wednesday afternoon.

“(I)t’s all contradictory and honestly, it’s just creating a huge war among the county,” Kayla Belcher said. “The separating, dividing, derogatory towards each other is going to stem more and more issues and in the end all these kids everyone is trying to protect are going to suffer, mask or not…. Kids are suffering more because of the arguments than with wearing a mask or not wearing a mask and that’s what really disgusts me.”

The theme in opposition largely boils down to one word: “choice.”

“It should be parent’s choice,” Mandy Wilson said. “Everyone’s situation is different and parents know what is best for their children.”

“(L)et everyone make the decision that works best for each family and unite together cause really no one knows for sure,” Jill Kerekanich added. “We are all just trying to do what’s best for our kids!”

“There should be no need for a medical exemption,” Amanda Page explained. “If you want your kids wearing a mask, cool! Go for it. But just because you want that does not mean that everyone does! Some of us choose to not live in fear!”

For Jessica Brown, it’s an issue of health. “Keeping my child safe means not exacerbating medical conditions and/or creating new medical issues by making her wear a mask in a facility that is already practicing social distancing,” she said.

“If you don’t think your child is safe being around kids not wearing masks then keep them home. That is your choice as a parent and it is mine to not mask my kids,” said Bryan Fuller.

Seneca Matteson-VanHouten said she’s concerned for children “who are thrown in the middle of adult issues for things that should have been settled well before the start of the year.”

The efficacy of the masks and the vaccine always come up in these discussions but several commented that there’s a political agenda underpinning the entire issue.

“It is past just being about a mask and covid,” Samantha Genung said. “It is all political now.”

Lenise Beedle added that it’s the students that “are being used as props.”

“This is a mandate not a law thus this judge can only temporarily ban this exemption,” Mandy Haight said. “We are American citizens and all have our constitutional rights. One is the right to be free and choose. This is terrible to do to our kids and yes they are trying to take parents rights away.”

“I think it’s ridiculous that a federal court is involved,” Rose Occhuizzo Gourley explained, “this should be a parent’s choice to mask or unmask. And either direction should not catch grief for that decision.

“Ultimately the kids are losing out on valuable learning time and youthful activities with these excessive quarantines as well.”

“The government has no business making blanket decisions for the public,” Joseph Perrin said. “It’s an overstep and a very slippery slope.”

Those views were by no means unanimous and several spoke in support of the court’s Tuesday ruling.

“I believe in science and the medical profession,” Melinda Ritter said. “Saddens me to see what the WCSD board did.. especially Art Stewart.”

“It’s a matter of public health,” Rose Clarke added. “Not wearing a mask has the potential to harm people around you, so it’s not just ‘my choice.’ The trade-off for being part of a community is considering what’s best for the people around you, even if it’s not what you would prefer.”

Michael Schumann said he gave his children the choice “and they wore them because in third (and) third grade they are more intelligent than the ‘adults’ in this town….”

“So many people still don’t understand that wearing a mask prevents the spread of infection to others and does not protect self, thus negating ‘parent’s choice,'” Amanda Green said. “Low vaccine and high transmission rates in Warren County are also contributing factors to the pandemic locally. … I do realize these are tangents in various directions and this could be taken so much further-but sticking to masking in schools: it’s what needs to be done for now and the right decision was made.”

Others were critical of the board’s original Sept. 13 move to effectively make masks optional.

“The board made the decision during a virtual meeting with no outside input,” Julie Fratrich said. “Why wasn’t there an open meeting with the parents and the board? The board will hold a virtual meeting to protect themselves but aren’t protecting the kids. They knew it was against guidelines when they first made the decision.”

“The school board acted in a way that was against all legal advisement,” Brandilyn Lyon argued. “They were told clearly and explicitly that they were opening themselves up for a lawsuit, and they did it anyways.”