Virginia Beach school board votes against making masks optional following heated hourslong meeting
By Elizabeth Stuart, Mallory Simon and Christina Maxouris The Virginia Beach school board voted against a motion which would make mask-wearing in school optional for the upcoming school year, during a heated Tuesday night meeting that lasted more than four hours. The board voted 6-4 against the effort, keeping masks mandatory for the district’s 63,000 students and more than 4,000 teachers in September. But that can still change before school reopens. Parents and community members lined up to speak out against the policy. “You’re all hypocrites,” said Annie Palumbo, who was among the evening’s first speakers. “I’m here fighting with