Backlash to Masking at Brainerd School Board Meeting

At public forums held at recent Brainerd School Board meetings, there have been some speakers pushing back on wearing masks.

During each Brainerd School Board meeting, the board typically doesn’t engage in back-and-forth talk. They employ a public forum to let people express their thoughts, giving each person three minutes to do so. At the most recent meeting on Monday, Keith Haskell addressed the board by claiming that the district’s COVID-19 mask policy is unconstitutional and that masks are ineffective.

“Masks don’t work. It’s right on the box. I know, I spent 16 years in fire rescue. These do absolutely nothing,” said Haskell as he held up a mask next to him. “And to quote our own governor, November 17th on national TV, he knows that what he ordered just didn’t work.”

Dr. Greg Davis of Essentia Health doesn’t agree with Haskell’s assessment.

“That’s not true. Masks work,” says Davis. “Masks are not perfect, and there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation out there about masks. The fact is, we don’t know everything that there is to know about masks, but masks do work to help slow the spread [of COVID-19].”

Later at the meeting, Haskell’s time did run out, but he continued to talk, causing the meeting to go into recess.

“I know my time’s up. I don’t care. They don’t care either,” argued Haskell as board members attempted to speak. “You know what? When you do that, when you violate U.S. Code, when you violate U.S. Code – you can turn my mic off, I can speak louder.”

After the recess, the board addressed COVID-19 numbers in the county and at Brainerd Public Schools. Their statistics show the district is currently seeing 109.2 total cases per 10,000 students, which falls into the category of every student wearing a mask.

With there being a new school board member, the board said they could revisit their mask policy to see where everyone stands in January.