Cobb County, Georgia, has recently lost three of its teachers because of COVID-19 complications.
After those losses, some people are unhappy with a few school board members who opted not to wear masks, despite the dying wish of a kindergarten teacher.
A school district spokesperson said it was because the individuals were socially distant at the time.
Patrick Key, 53, of Marietta, taught in the county for more than two decades. He died on Christmas Day (December 25). Two other elementary school teachers, Dana Johnson and Cynthia Lindsey, died Thursday (January 21).
“Patrick was a life-long lover of all things comic books, science fiction, Star Wars and Manga,” Key's obituary reads. “He had a great sense of humor and was very well loved by all who knew him.”
In his obituary, Key’s family explained that he “felt passionate about wearing masks during the pandemic. In lieu of flowers, please buy and wear a mask to protect others and yourself in honor of him.”
Jennifer Susko, a school district employee, spoke at a recent school board meeting and encouraged all eight members and the superintendent to wear masks in honor of Key, according to USA Today. Susko also asked for a moment of silence in Key’s honor.
She noticed that a few of the representatives — Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and board members David Chastain and David Banks — did not wear masks. She noted a “false gratitude for staff.”
A spokesperson for the school district, however, told USA Today that all members followed the mask policy in place at the school district and were socially distanced. The spokesperson also offered condolences to Key’s, Johnson’s and Lindsey’s families.
Key’s wife, Priscilla, told the publication in a statement that the school board meeting “would have broken his heart,” and “we were stunned” that some officials did not wear a mask in his honor.
Watch the Cobb County School District Board of Education meeting here.
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