Altoona Area School Board member Mike Baker submitted his resignation on Monday night, after he got an offer for a position in the high school. That resignation left an open board spot for the next four months. The Altoona Area School Board voted to offer Stephanie McGinnis the open seat on the board, after considering the fact that they only had 30 days to choose a new member. McGinnis, who won the most votes between Republicans and Democrats, will join immediately and be on the board in in time for the next meeting if she accepts. In other action, a public comment period was held, with much of it centering around the COVID-19 vaccines and Governor Wolf’s latest mask mandate. Some expressed concerns about the school district encouraging students to be vaccinated, pointing to the fact that it is not really a vaccine… but rather an experimental mRNA gene therapy and it’s not FDA approved. It has emergency use authorization only. Locally, the school board is strongly recommending that all children wear masks, but it is optional and it’s up to the parents.
