Pennsylvania judge boots 5 Dems from school board over mask mandate
Order is result of a parent-filed petition to the West Chester Area School District
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Pennsylvania judge ordered five school board members who voted at the beginning of the school year to make masks mandatory to be immediately removed from office.
The order is a result of a parent-filed petition to the West Chester Area School District back in February, according to public media organization WHYY. One of the parents, Beth Ann Rosica, argued that under the Pennsylvania school code districts have no authority to require students to wear masks.
A student wears a mask during class at Raices Dual Language Academy, a public school in Central Falls, Rhode Island, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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The five removed were all the Democrats. The lawyer representing them, Kenneth Roos from Wisler Pearlstine, LLP, said they submitted a motion for reconsideration of Judge William Mahon's order Tuesday night. The group anticipated it would be accepted for filing Wednesday morning.
The board opted to continue requiring masks after Pennsylvania's state of emergency first ended in June 2021. It kept the decision in place two months after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared the mandate unconstitutional in December.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}West Chester Area School District Board Meeting March 28, 2022. (West Chester Area School District)
The decision from the Court of Common Pleas "states that the removal of the board members named in the petition was a ‘procedural result’ and does not address any of the allegations made in the complaint" a statement from Superintendent Dr. Robert Sokolowski reads. "Special counsel to the district is in the process of preparing a substantive response on behalf of those school board members named in the petition."
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Sokolowski told district families and members of the community that due to the ongoing legal matter he will not be able to provide additional comments, but would provide updates when he can.
Judge Mahon gave both parent petitioner Rosica and the school district seven days to submit recommendations for replacement board members. A district spokeswoman did not respond to Fox News Digital's question about whether or not that has been done.