Central Reg. Superintendent Wants Changes To Mask Mandate

BERKELEY, NJ — An “Un-Mask Students” demonstration at the Central Regional Board of Education meeting drew support from the school district’s superintendent on Thursday.

A group of about 15 people with children enrolled in Berkeley’s schools urged board members to not implement the face mask mandate for students and faculty in the district.

Parents presented several arguments against face masks to the school board during the meeting. They argued that the Center For Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines are not enforceable by law and that face masks are not "100 percent effective," according to guidance from the New Jersey Department of Health that was published March 2, 2020.

Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said that he and the board of education support the parents’ position on the mask mandate.

“I told them we need to work together on a letter writing campaign to Governor Murphy and attend the State Board of Education meetings in Trenton to get the change we need,” Parlapanides told Patch.

Parlapanides added that the state should open fully and return to normalcy.

“We have bright people in New Jersey and I think people can stay safe based on their comfort levels,” he said.

The demonstration at Central Regional was planned by members of the Facebook group, End Masks in NJ Classrooms.

Earlier this week, a few hundred people attended a rally in Stafford Township after a school nurse was suspended for reporting to work without a face mask. Read more here.

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