Parents at Aspen council meeting speak out en mass against mask mandate for children

Carolyn Sackariason

While people party unmasked in packed bars and eat and drink in restaurants throughout Pitkin County and at the ski resorts, hundreds of children are forced to wear face coverings all day long in school and it’s impeding their education, eroding their mental health and creating fear of authority.

That’s according to two dozen parents who spoke for an hour during public comment at Aspen City Council’s meeting on Tuesday, urging elected officials to convince their colleagues on Pitkin County’s board of health to lift the mask mandate in public schools and child care facilities.

Julia DeBacker, a parent of six children in Aspen, said two years of forcing them to wear a mask has led them to be socially incompetent, fearful, full of anxiety and untrusting of authority.

“We know that you can’t change the health orders but your voices are louder than ours,” she told council.

Mayor Torre represents the city and council on the board of health, a governing body that is comprised of elected officials and citizens. The board of health doesn’t take public comment and is not scheduled to meet again until March.