Protesting of the state’s school mask mandate continued for a third day in the Kiski Area School District, with a group of 10 people stationed outside the high school and administrative offices on Thursday morning.

The protesters, including parents and students, declined to comment when approached by a Tribune-Review reporter. All of them held homemade signs and one waved an American flag. The signs included messages such as, “It’s not a mask, it’s a muzzle,” “Your health is not my responsibility,” “No more masks, facts over fear” and “Unmask our kids. We choose freedom.”

The protesting began Tuesday, the day Gov. Wolf’s mandate requiring people to wear masks in schools took effect. It started out with only a handful of protesters, but Kiski Families For Freedom protest co-organizer April Hodges of Allegheny Township said the crowd grew to more than 50 people by the afternoon.

“We’re fighting for the choice of our children,” said Hodges, who has two children in the district.

Hodges said she intends to pull her son from North Primary Area Elementary if the current mask mandate isn’t lifted.

“It’s not about political sides,” Hodges said. “It’s about the right to choose for our own families what is best for our children. We have people from both political sides in our group who just want the right to choose.

Hodges and fellow protest organizer Antoinette Pampena, of Washington Township, drafted a petition that’s circulating on social media.

The organizers said they have collected more than 500 signatures. They plan to present it to the school board when it meets Wednesday.

The petition asks for mask usage be made optional for all Kiski Area students.

“The school boards have the right to govern locally,” Pampena said. “If our board gives up the right to govern locally, which is what they’ve been elected to do, it will set a precedent moving forward and it will no longer be our board making decisions for us, it will be our government.”

School board member Mark Flemm Jr. said Thursday that the board has received several emails on the issue.

“I can only speak for myself when I say everyone’s opinions have been heard and read. I appreciate hearing opinions from my community members,” Flemm said. “Regardless of my personal opinion, the fact remains that masking in the school is a state mandate, and that is the order the school is following.”

The district voted this summer to make mask usage optional in its health and safety plan.

In an interview with the Trib earlier this week, Kiski Area Acting Superintendent Jason Lohr said that, despite the protests, student participation was overwhelmingly positive.

“Our children really made a choice that they wanted to be in school,” said Lohr, adding the protesters have a right to express themselves. “We welcome people to protest. It’s their right.”

Lohr said the protests haven’t interfered with any on-campus operations. Protest organizers said the protests will continue daily until the next school board meeting.