The Iberia Parish School Board will vote to receive a presentation from concerned parents regarding the mask mandate for public schools at Wednesday’s meeting.

The agenda item comes after a group of angry parents sought to get on the agenda during the last school board meeting without asking school board officials to be put on the agenda first.

The confusion led to a confrontation between the local residents, who were mostly not wearing masks, and members of the Iberia Parish School Board.

The New Iberia Police Department was ultimately called to resolve the situation in the middle of the meeting, and the matter was ultimately resolved with the parents being allowed to stay for the duration of the meeting.

Some of the parents involved said they were concerned for the well-being of their children in public schools, and that the local implementation of the mask mandates that were given from the state government were unfair.

Board member Brad Norris along with a few other board members said the parents’ complaints deserved to be heard out and put on the agenda for a future meeting.

The board will also consider the approval of eight additional leave days for staff pertaining to COVID-19 leave.

Director of Human Resources Gannon Dooley said in a letter to the superintendent that the COVID positivity in Iberia Parish was at 24.3 percent, and that a large percentage has manifested in the Iberia school system.

The COVID leave will be retractive from July 1 of this year, and will expire on Dec. 31. The leave will accommodate eight of the 10 days of quarantine that an employee is required to provide due to direct contact or becoming COVID-19 positive.

In other business, the school board will vote to declare the site of the former Park Elementary School building on Gilbert Drive as surplus and direct the business department to proceed with the sale of the property.

The meeting takes place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Iberia Parish School Board office on Jane Street.