Howard County parents react to mask mandate lifting in public schools

Since the HCPSS Board of Education voted to lift the universal indoor masking requirement Feb. 24, face masks are now optional in county public schools. Parents shared varied opinions about the lifting of the mask requirement. Becky McGill-Wilkinson, of Columbia, is the mother of a preschooler and a first grader at Swansfield Elementary School in Columbia. She said she thinks the school system should have waited to lift the mask requirement until children of all ages can be vaccinated.