School board mask meeting ends in fight

VILLA PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- A westbound suburban schoolhouse committee gathering adjourned without a ballot connected mandatory look masks aft heated statement turned into a reported carnal altercation.

District 45's schoolhouse committee gathering successful Villa Park featured yelling, heated words and tense moments. They threatened to adjourn aboriginal aft immoderate successful the assemblage refused to comply with the meeting's disguise requirement.

"We're going to astir apt extremity up adjourning and holding our gathering connected Zoom astatine different time," said Board President Judy Degnan.

District 45 is simply a K-8 territory serving students predominantly successful Villa Park and Lombard, and the superintendent has recommended that schoolhouse committee ballot to o.k. a look disguise request for each students and unit careless of vaccination presumption for the upcoming schoolhouse year.

The territory says the masking argumentation would beryllium successful enactment with CDC recommendations for students and unit successful areas seeing important COVID spread. That is the lawsuit successful DuPage County, wherever the trial positivity complaint has accrued much than a constituent successful the past week oregon so.

After a 45 infinitesimal delay, the gathering continued without disguise enforcement.

"I'm a small disappointed that parents are being allowed to interruption the rules this evening successful beforehand of the children," said Tracey Gzamouranis, parent.

The parents were divided connected whether the disguise mandate is necessary.

"It makes perfectly not consciousness to unmask children who are not eligible for the vaccine," said Andrea Smolek, parent.

"It's horrific that they're injuring their ain children with having to deterioration a mask," said Bradley Donald. "But adjacent much horrific, you privation to harm idiosyncratic else's kid to person them person a disguise on. That's shame connected you. Shame connected your for doing that."

While the treatment was civilian for overmuch of the night, determination was a abrupt altercation successful the hallway. Witnesses said an statement led to pushing. One idiosyncratic was led distant aft appearing to endure a panic attack.

The committee adjourned without a vote.

"Out of interest for the nationalist information and for our ain safety, we are going to adjourn this committee meeting," Degnan said.

The committee is readying to reschedule that ballot for a aboriginal date, but it's unclear if the adjacent gathering volition beryllium in-person oregon via zoom