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BROOKFIELD — First Selectman Tara Carr is facing criticism after she was photographed at a youth basketball game this past weekend in a local school without wearing a mask and following the state’s executive orders tied to COVID-19.
Carr, a Republican who was elected in November, acknowledged she did not wear a mask while attending six basketball games over the weekend, including at Brookfield High School, Whisconier Middle School and Huckleberry Hill Elementary School. She did not wear a mask at any of them, leading to a fellow member of the audience at Whisconier taking a photo of Carr, which was then shared on Twitter by Democratic Town Chairwoman Laura Orban.
An executive order from Gov. Ned Lamont continues to mandate the use of masks or face coverings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in specific venues including correctional facilities, health care facilities and schools.
Carr acknowledged the existing mask mandate, but said “mandates are not enforceable.” Instead, when asked why she was not wearing a mask, she pointed to others not wearing masks in the school gyms and some children not properly wearing masks. She added that masks are uncomfortable for players “since it can get very hot” inside the gym.
Carr added that no one asked her at any of the games to put a mask on, nor did she notice anyone else who wasn’t wearing a mask being asked to put one on.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its guidance for mask wearing throughout the pandemic. Current guidance recommends those who are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines wear masks indoors in public “if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission” in order to “maximize and prevent possibly spreading COVID-19 to others.” Those who are not up to date “should continue to take all precautions recommended for unvaccinated people, including wearing a well-fitted mask, until advised otherwise by their healthcare provider.”
Carr did not disclose whether she has received the COVID-19 vaccine when asked leading up to the election.
An email sent to parents before the weekend games and shared with the News-Times and sent by the Brookfield Parks and Recreation supervisor reminded attendees to wear masks.
“All people entering the school must wear a mask at all times,” he wrote.
Additionally, Brookfield Board of Education Chairman Bob Belden acknowledged the state’s mandate and said Carr “should be wearing a mask.”
“The governor’s mandate requires that masks are being worn on school premises at all times. There’s no exceptions to that,” Belden said.
Because the basketball game is not sponsored by the school, however, Belden said school employees were not there to enforce the mandate of masks.
“We don’t have school employees for parks and rec events on weekends,” Belden said. “It’s not something as a school district we have oversight on.”
He said that at parks and recreation sponsored events, it would have to be up to the parks and recreation department how they would want to handle it when someone doesn’t wear a mask.
At school sponsored events, the athletic director or the coach would have probably gone into the audience “and told them you have to put your masks on,” he said.
He added, however, that the policy of the schools with regard to masks should be well known to those in the parks and recreation department.
Brookfield Board of Education member Rosa Fernandes also said the school board supports the state’s mask mandates. She added while it is difficult to enforce them, everyone who works or volunteers at the school should already be aware of them and abide by them.
“For me, personally, I understand that technically, these mandates are not enforceable because there are no guards at the doors telling people, and I don’t think we have the funding to do that, but I think all public officials understand the rules, and I feel like they have a responsibility to follow them,” she said.
She said her daughter plays basketball with Carr’s daughter and she has seen Carr unmasked at games at Huckleberry Hill school.
She said she didn’t approach Carr about being unmasked on those occasions because she would like to “keep it un-confrontational around the kids.”
She added, however, that she feels “anybody who is not wearing a mask in school now is just protesting. I know everybody knows the rules.”
Carr said she has been publicly vocal that children shouldn’t be masked in schools. She referred to a post Sunday morning on her town Facebook page called Brookfield First Selectman Tara Carr that references an 8-year-old boy from Trumbull who made a post in relation to Martin Luther King, saying he has a dream that “the Board of Ed will unmask us.”
“I spoke with his mother today,” Carr said Sunday. “Her son has been challenged by masks for two years. This poor little guy was just expressing himself in the class project,” she said.
She said the decision should be a parent’s choice as to whether or not a child should wear a mask in school.
“If you want your child to be in a mask, I respect that 100 percent but I have the mutual respect for people who also may not want their children in masks,” she said.
Orban, the local DTC chair, took issue with Carr’s Facebook post.
“It’s inappropriate. It’s insensitive,” Orban said.
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