LARGO -- The Pinellas School Board voted 4-1 to keep a mask rule in place in Pinellas County Schools for three more months, after hearing from more than two dozen speakers who opposed it.
"Sadly, even though you're sitting here listening to us, I don't think you're hearing us... I think your minds are made up," parent Shauna Nelson told the board.
Several speakers called the mask rule "child abuse." Others accused the board of keeping the rule for political purposes, or of attempting to make it a permanent situation in schools.
Superintendent Michael Grego said "nothing is permanent" and they're working with the state health department to develop benchmarks for loosening mask rules.
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