Two high school students removed from school over mask policy

By Nick Sloan, Abby Dodge

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    CLINTON, Missouri (KCTV) — Two high school students in Clinton, Mo., were asked to leave school for not complying with the district’s mask requirement.

Currently, masks are required for all students and staff in Clinton.

Student Gage Mantonya is one of two students who say they aren’t masking up for school. He says he’s risking eligibility and plays three sports at the school.

“I think they should be supportive of all of their students, not just the ones who comply with their mandates,” Mantonya said. “He was asking me, am I sure I want to do this because I’d be letting down my coaches.”

Michelle Mantonya, Gage’s mother, is supportive of her son.

“Everyone should have the right to choose,” she said. “If you want to wear a mask, by all means wear a mask. But if you don’t, I think you should have that right.”

London Rosiere spent less than an hour inside on her first day.

“I made it to my first class, I made it to attendance, and once he looked at me he said where’s you mask,” she said. I said ‘I don’t have one’ and he said I’m going to have to send you to the principal’s office and I said I won’t be coming back because I won’t be wearing it.”

Some families KCTV5 spoke to had no problem sending students to school masked.

“It’s so silly to risk our children’s lives by not wearing a mask,” Loretta Meyer said.

Clinton Superintendent Destry Brown said the district will maintain its mask requirement. Brown said the goal is to prevent large quarantine numbers.

“The reason we put it in place was to keep as many kids as we can in school,” Brown said. “And our goal is to make sure we do everything we can to make sure we keep as many kids in school every day as we can.”

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