WESTFIELD — A letter by the Westfield Academy and Central School Board to Gov. Kathy Hochul regarding COVID-related mandates has generated a good deal of response from area residents, but no answer from the state so far.

During the public comment section of the Feb. 14 regular board meeting, four adults and four students spoke on the mask mandate. All urged the board to remove the mandate to wear masks in school.

The letter to Hochul, written by board member Tom Tarpley and signed by all of the board members, stated that the government-imposed mandates have not succeeded in keeping students and staff safe. It went on to request that the state give school districts the power to decide what measures should be taken to combat COVID.

The letter stated: “It is time to move away from a culture of mandates and move instead to a culture of trust and shared responsibility which gives decisions related to COVID back to individual school districts in close cooperation with their county health departments.”

There has been no response from the governor’s office to the letter, Tarpley said. However, several board members shared responses they had received from residents of the district.

Tarpley told board members that 80% of the responses he had received were in favor of the letter, while 20% were against it. However, this changed after the governor’s declaration that mask mandates would expire for indoor public places; the mandate remains in place for students and staff in schools.

“Following Gov. Hochul’s decision to require children and school staff to continue wearing masks at school, while eliminating the indoor mask mandate at other locations, there was a clear shift of anger directed at Gov. Hochul for this contradictory decision,” Tarpley said. “After Gov. Hochul made this announcement, some of the 20% who were originally opposed to the letter now were in favor of our letter.”

Board president Wendy Dyment said she, too, had received “a lot of positive comments about the letter.” However, several people also expressed concerns about it, she said.

Board member Deanne Manzella said that one woman was concerned that the district would abandon all caution regarding COVID if the mask mandate was removed.

“I was glad because we were able to have a long discussion about it,” she said. “I assured her that we would keep up all of the practices we initiated such as the high-tech air cleaners and our sanitizing practices.”

A series of adults and students also addressed the matter of wearing masks during the public participation segment of the meeting. Adult speakers were Shannon Bills, Shannon Baum, Jennifer Phillips and Wendy Dellow. Students speakers were Emma Busuladzic, Cassidy Phillips, Mason Baum and Isabella Bratton.

Bills began by thanking the district for keeping the schools open.

“I used to be in strong support of universal masking,” she said. “However, mask mandates send the message that school is a dangerous place. Schools can safely make masks optional.”

Baum stressed that everyone has the same goal of returning to normal education.

“I am asking that children be treated with equality whether they are masked or unmasked,” she said.

Busuladzic said that teachers having to ask if a student is vaccinated or unvaccinated has created division.

“I should not be put on the spot to defend my position. The school has no business demanding that students be injected with untried chemicals,” she said. “Mask wearing contributes to anxiety, depression and fear.”

“A letter to Gov. Hochul is a good start,” Phillips said. “Be the change you want to be in the world. Take action before it’s too late and all local choice is gone.”

Board members thanked the speakers for their willingness to share their concerns.

“While the information they shared was definitely troubling, it was important for us to hear what their experiences have been so we can move the district forward,” Tarpley said.