Tuesday, July 20, 2021 8:28 pm EACS board approves mask-optional school year ASHLEY SLOBODA | The Journal Gazette Minutes before the East Allen County Schools board approved a mask-optional academic year, member Jenny Blackburn urged respect. She worries about her son being picked on for choosing to wear a mask, she said. She noted she felt like an outcast for being one of a few masked people in the crowded, socially-distanced board room. The board passed the plan — which includes guidance about quarantines, cleaning practices and visitors — in a 6-1 vote. Member Paulette Nellems said she would rather start with masking students. She called COVID, which has affected her family, a horrible, ugly disease that is nothing like the flu.