Opponents of Carroll ISD COVID-19 mask policy display ‘I can’t breathe’ signs during meeting in Southlake

Updated at 4:30 p.m. with details throughout.

Opponents of Carroll ISD’s COVID-19 mask mandate gathered inside and outside the administration building Monday during a school board meeting in which trustees voted to keep it in place through the end of the school year.

Parents and others lined the perimeter of the building, some holding signs reading “I can’t breathe,” a reference to George Floyd’s last words, and “No Moore,” calling for school board president Michelle Moore to resign.

One boy wore a MAGA hat and a shirt with an American flag and the words “Offended? I can help you pack,” while others in the crowd chanted “Freedom” and “No more masks.”

The Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition, a student-led group, and those who support the district’s Cultural Competence Action Plan felt the signs were mocking Floyd’s death as well as an effort to bring diversity and inclusion awareness to the district.

The protests came two days after Southlake voters resoundingly elected two new board members who have publicly dismissed the district’s plan, calling it racially divisive.

“They feel absolutely emboldened now,” said Anya Kushwaha, the coalition’s founder and a 2016 Carroll High graduate. “They are basking in this victory and feeling so validated.”

Inside the boardroom Monday, parents came to speak and to jeer, and the mood grew tense just as the area went under a tornado watch. The overflow crowd was moved to the gym, where many refused to wear masks or social distance, one parent said.

Many speakers called on trustees to rescind the mask mandate immediately, but they voted to end the protocol June 1 in a unanimous 5-0 decision. The last day of school is May 27, according to the district website.

“Over half of our teachers and over half of our parents would prefer the continuation of masks from a safety standpoint,” superintendent Lane Ledbetter said.

Moore said Wednesday that the board and the Carroll ISD administration welcome public input, be it words of encouragement or criticism.

“But the level of disrespect that was demonstrated at Monday night’s meeting was inappropriate,” she said in a prepared statement. “Our Board and Administration will work to improve safety measures to ensure everyone in attendance feels safe to share their perspectives. Disagreeing respectfully on issues we are passionate about isn’t always easy, but our kids are watching and deserve a better example of how to work together to solve problems.”

Others who support the Cultural Competence Action Plan told The Dallas Morning News that they were “appalled” by the turnout and called the protesters an “angry mob.”

“This was Jan. 6 all over again,” said Roshni Chowdhry, who has a sixth-grade child in the district. “It was an insurgence.”

She planned to speak in support of the diversity and inclusion plan but said she changed her mind once she saw the behavior of parents who advocated to end the mask ban.

“I was extremely appalled at the way they were treating the board members,” Chowdhry said. “So I changed my speech. I spoke about the privileged arrogance that was in the room.”

Throughout the two-hour-plus meeting, Moore struggled to hold order as onlookers applauded loudly after speakers.

“I am speaking,” she said. “And I am asking you to please stop applauding or we are going to empty the boardroom.”

“Please make masks optional, because at this point, you are just medicating the mind,” said one speaker.

“You cannot shut us up, you cannot keep us quiet,” another speaker said.

Several opponents of the mask mandate who were at the meeting did not respond to requests for comment.

Moore and board vice president Todd Carlton were indicted last month on misdemeanor charges of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act According to the indictments, messages were exchanged before an August 2020 board meeting to discuss the cultural competence plan.

The plan is in limbo after a mother in the district filed a lawsuit last year and a Tarrant County judge granted a temporary restraining order barring the district from moving ahead with it.

Bjorn Bennett has two children in the district and has lived in Southlake for 11 years since moving from the Washington area.

“Monday was an embarrassing follow-up to an embarrassing election,” Bennett said. “As a normal American, I’m kind of stunned by [all of it]. Southlake is doubling down by not dealing with these race issues.”

He said the results of the election haven’t changed the level of vitriol so much as it “brought it from an 8 to a 9.5.”