Toms River parents, students hold rally to protest school mask mandate

A group of parents and students held a rally in Toms River Wednesday evening to protest Gov. Phil Murphy’s mandate that masks must be worn inside of schools.
The rally was held outside of the town’s Board of Education meeting. The group held signs and chanted, “No more masks.”
The governor says that masks must be worn inside of schools when classes resume in September because of rising cases of COVID-19 and the delta variant around the state.
The parents say that it should be their decision if their child wears a mask. The group wants school board officials to jump on board and defy the governor’s orders.
“We want our BOE to back us. We want our BOE to stand with us. We want them to fight the governor’s executive order,” says parent Dana Dentato. “We are 18 schools deep in Toms River. He needs to know that everyone here will vote him out.”