West Middlesex parents protest Pa. school mask mandate

WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. - Parents pushed back on the first day of Pennsylvania's mask mandate inside schools.
"I don't want to put a muzzle on my child, they need to have the right to breathe free air,"
Sarah Robb said, a parent in the West Middlesex school district.
The mandate ordered by Governor Tom Wolf requires all students above the age of 2 and all staff to wear masks inside of all schools, preschools and daycares in the state.
Robb believes parents should have a say in the decision.
"I think it's the right of the parent to be able to choose what they want to do for their child and not have the government tell us what we can do for our child," she said.
She joined several parents who held signs in protest of the mask mandate outside of West Middlesex schools on Tuesday.
One dad says the mandate sends a mixed message to students who are urged to get vaccinated against covid-19.
"Even if you get it, you're still going to have to wear a mask, so the message that Governor Wolf is sending to me and my kids, is 'why get vaxed if you still got to wear a mask?', Philip Julian said, of New Castle.
Mercer Area School District has been relying on local covid-19 case data to determine its classroom protocols. Until Tuesday, the district's mask wearing policy was optional.
"We didn't have a great deal of cases within Mercer County, specifically like I said, within the school district," Ronald Rowe said, district superintendent.
"We've had a couple of cases here just recently, but we're two weeks into school without any major issue at this time."
Superintendent Rowe says not all of the students are happy about wearing masks again.
Masks were optional Sharon City Schools until this week as well.
Still, some parents are in favor of requiring them.
"My children are too young to be vaccinated, so I care about their health and their safety," one parent said.
The parents in protest of the mandate were gathering signatures for a petition against the mandate.
A lawsuit was filed by a group of concerned parents and Pennsylvania lawmakers on Friday in Commonwealth Court seeking to overturn the mandate for all schools.