KENOSHA — The Kenosha Unified School District Board ended its meeting Tuesday night after the crowd would not follow the board's requests to social distance.
"We will not begin the meeting until we have the social distancing in this room that we require," said board president Yolanda Adams at the meeting.
Dozens of parents and members of the community filled the meeting room at the Kenosha Unified School District building. They tried to start the meeting themselves by singing the National Anthem and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
KUSD via YouTube
Adams spoke to TMJ4 News after the meeting over the phone. She said the board was prepared to stay for as long as it takes to listen to the dozens of people signed up for public comment, but she didn't want a "super-spreader event."
"We need to find a bigger venue, so I will adjourn the meeting and we will hold it on another day, and please watch for the date and time, thank you," Adams said at the meeting.
TMJ4 heard officials ask the crowd twice to spread out to overflow rooms. The crowd did not dissipate, and after a few minutes the board said it would hold the meeting another time and walked out. That's when the crowd booed and chanted.
The crowd circled up and discussed trying to start a recall. Some stood on chairs. Many of them expressed they don't want masks required in schools.
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"Right now this group of parents feels that they’re willing to take the risk," said parent Amanda Nedweski. "They are OK with it, they are signaling, I am sending my child to school, I'm OK if they get COVID, we'll know how to deal with it."
Kenosha administrators are recommending students in grades 6 and younger be required to wear a mask until vaccines are available for them. Otherwise, it suggests masks remain optional for students in grades the 7 through 12. It recommends circling back on the mask policy as it monitors community case and vaccination rates.
The CDC recommends everyone wear masks in schools regardless of vaccination status.
Nedweski says she is a lifelong area resident and has two students in the district.
"I feel that this was a cop out, and it was a sign of cowardice that they were afraid to face the people, or possibly it was a grasp at power," Nedweski said. "Maybe they thought I'm going to flex my muscle and I'm not going to bow to your demands. Well this is a public meeting, it was scheduled at 7 p.m. in this room with the legal amount of given notice."
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Earlier on Tuesday, Kenosha Education Association President Tanya Kitts-Lewinski told TMJ4 News she signed up to speak virtually at the meeting because she was concerned for her safety.
Board President Adams said a new meeting notice will likely go out midday Wednesday. She added armed security and police officers typically are called to meetings with "controversial issues."
GREEN BAY — The National Football League is imposing tougher COVID-19 protocols and penalties for the upcoming season. The NFL is not requiring players to be vaccinated, but those who choose not to will have to practice and play under a different set of restrictions.
NFL teams are required to have 85 percent of the players vaccinated to be able to loosen COVID-19 protocols. The Green Bay Packers have yet to share where they stand with reaching that threshold, but one thing is certain: unvaccinated players who break guidelines will face major fines.
When the Green Bay Packers’ training camp kicks off on Wednesday, the NFL’s new COVID-19 protocols will essentially create two sets of players on the same team based on their vaccination status.
Players who are vaccinated face almost no guidelines. Unvaccinated players face daily testing, masks and social distancing requirements inside team facilities, and 10-day quarantines for those who test positive, just to name a few.
The league said any unvaccinated player who breaks protocols can be fined $14,650 each time. Packers fan Jamarius Moseby thinks it makes sense to have two sets of rules with so much money on the line.
"If it's something that the organization or the league or the team wants you to do specifically, why not do it? Because at the end of the day, that's how you get paid,” he said.
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The harshest penalty outlined by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says if a regular season cannot be rescheduled due to an outbreak among unvaccinated players, that team will be required to forfeit, take a loss on their record, and their game checks will be withheld.
“People have been waiting so long to go back to normal and enjoy the games, and if they have to miss one because of that, I think fans are not going to be happy,” said Packers fan Cheryl Habush.
During a news conference Monday, Packers CEO Mark Murphy declined to share how many Packers players are fully vaccinated.
“I would say we have a ways to go and we’re working on it,” Murphy said.
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Packers CEO Mark Murphy
According to NFL insiders, at least 14 teams have 85 percent of their players vaccinated, which clears the way for fewer protocols.
“It’s really designed to incentivize players to get vaccinated,” Murphy said.
ESPN reports more than 70 percent of NFL players are at least partially vaccinated.
"I think what the NFL is saying is, ‘you know what, for those we have the most control over, whether it's the team's support staff, we want those folks vaccinated. We probably can't tell the players that they have to be vaccinated, but if a player's going to choose not to be vaccinated, then it's partly on them then to absorb the consequences of that decision,’” said UW Health Chief Quality Officer Dr. Jeff Pothof.
With the Delta variant causing concern about another surge in cases among the unvaccinated, Dr. Pothof says the time has come for businesses like the NFL to do what they think is best to ensure revenue isn’t lost.
"I think a lot of people would like to say, ‘well you're just trying to make it hard on the players, just trying to stick it to them.' It really probably has less to do with that and more to do with they're trying to run a successful business, and if we don't have folks who are vaccinated, we can't run successful businesses,” Dr. Pothof said.
When it comes to fans in the stands at Lambeau Field this fall, Murphy said the organization is in constant communication with local health officials, but plans remain to be at full capacity.
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