Kaneland parents protest mask mandate outside Elburn elementary school Monday morning

A group of parents and their children protested Kaneland’s decision to continue with Gov. JB Pritzker’s mask mandate Monday morning at John Stewart Elementary School in Elburn.

“The perfect opportunity comes up [to repeal the mask mandate] and they’re not doing it. So we’re taking a stand, all of us together, for our kids,” said parent Tanya Smith.

Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow on Friday granted a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit involving a number of schools and families from across the state that challenges Pritzker’s mask mandate as an overstep of his authority. School administrators across the state spent the weekend scrambling to react to the decision, with some holding special emergency meetings or taking other measures.

Kaneland announced in an email Sunday night that the mask mandate will remain in place for all students and staff. Batavia will also keep the mask mandate for all district schools.

Geneva and St. Charles canceled all classes for Monday, and St. Charles has announced that it’s going mask optional beginning on Tuesday.

“This is nothing against you,” Maple Park parent Tonia Groezinger said to John Stewart Principal Samantha Aversa. “It truly is not. You have been an amazing principal and we all have agreed to that.”

Some of the kids chose to go home with a parent while others among the group of about 20 decided to enter without masks.

Aversa explained to the group that kids who enter without a mask would be asked to put one on.

“They will hopefully put a mask on,” she said. “If not, we’ll take them into another room and we’ll talk to them. We want to understand their viewpoint to make sure we support them as well because this is hard for everybody, but again I still have to stand with what the policy is.”

But for Groezinger and the other parents outside the school, it’s time to make the masks optional.

“Basically we just need to show our kids and other parents that enough is enough,” she said. “At some point the parents need to be allowed to make the choices for their children. That’s what we were meant to do. That’s what we were put on this Earth to do and it’s unfortunate that it has to go this way.

“I have nothing but respect for many in our administration, but at some point I need to do what’s right for my kids and this is the best way I know how.”