Medina school board member resigns; district rescinds COVID-19 protocols

MEDINA — An immediate resignation from Medina schools board member Brian Hilberg was accepted Monday as the district also moved to rescind its COVID-19 safety protocols. "It has been a pleasure serving in this position and I humbly thank the other board members, the administration, and the students and their parents for this opportunity to serve the Medina City School district," Hilberg said in a news release. Hilberg was elected to his seat in November 2019 with his term set to expire Dec. 31, 2023. A replacement will be appointed by the board of education with the position now open to Medina residents aged 18 or over. Those interested are urged to complete an application at medinabees.org or obtain a paper copy the Medina City Schools Board of Education office, 739 Weymouth Road. A request for an application can be sent to polohal@medinabees.org. All applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Friday, July 9. The board intends to conduct interviews during a special meeting Tuesday, July 13, at Medina High School, 777 E. Union St. That will take place in the building's Professional Development Center located through the D2 entrance. Officials say the appointment will be made no later than July 26. That person will sit on the board for the remainder of 2021 but would have to run in the November general election in order to serve the balance of Hilberg's term, if the appointee chooses to do so. "We appreciate Mr. Hilberg's service the past few years," board President Rob Skidmore said. "We appreciate Mr. Hilberg and all of his work. His new restaurant is doing so well it's taking a lot of his time among other things. We will miss him on the board." Hilberg opened Swine BBQ in Medina at 117 Public Square in May. District 'sunsets' COVID-19 protocols The board voted unanimously to rescind or "sunset" its COVID-19 safety protocols that had been in place since last August, the culmination of community efforts to form a return to school plan. While that move was met with applause from numerous parents and community members on hand at Monday's meeting, many proceeded to angrily rail against pandemic safety measures ever being instituted to begin with. Resident Kelsey Stolarski made this comparison when discussing the district's previous mask guidelines for students. "In my college sophomore year Judaism and Christianity class I was reminded of the propaganda that was used to promote mass hatred of the Jews during World War II," she told the board. "They were identified with stars and separated from society. While we're fortunately not yet experiencing mass extermination and discrimination of a certain people group, like that time in history, we are bombarded by segregation based on personal medical choices." While not making comparisons to historical atrocities, others shared similar angry sentiments such as threatening to sue Medina Schools should they ever again institute mask use. Another speaker was a recent Medina High School graduate who stated he was the only student in the building last year to refuse to wear a mask, saying the experience left him feeling bullied. "It messed with me emotionally and if I had to do a full year like that I don't know what would've happened," he said. "It was really rough not being able to talk and converse with my peers." Officials did not directly address any public comments regarding masks or the past year's COVID-19 safety measures. Before Monday's legislation was passed, Superintendent Aaron Sable said the district would comply with any future pandemic-related mandates handed down by the state but considers that scenario unlikely. He also cited multiple COVID-19-related hospitalizations that have occurred among Medina Schools building inhabitants as well as the death of one faculty member due to the virus. "We weren't unscathed by the pandemic," Sable said. "We did have multiple students and staff members that were COVID positive, that were hospitalized. We even had a staff member that lost their life to COVID as well as their spouse. I ask that people keep that in mind while we discuss COVID protocol procedures and what we've done in the past." "State protocols ended June 2 and we followed suit in the district and didn't require masks on those final days," he added. "Granted, it was a short period of time but we didn't see spikes. I've talked to our neighboring districts, who had longer periods of time in school, and they didn't see spikes either. That's why I'm so confident heading into next school year." Sable said the district's COVID-19 plan will be removed from its website and that a "normal" start to the 2021-22 term is expected. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.