Masks will not be mandatory for students in Oswego-based School District 308 when in-person learning resumes in August.
“My recommendation to the Board of Education is that the district not mandate masks be worn,” Superintendent John Sparlin said at the July 12 District 308 School Board meeting.
The 6-0 vote at the board meeting gives families the choice of whether or not they want their children to wear masks in school. However, masks will be required on school buses.
Voting in favor were board President Donna Marino, LaTonya Simelton, Lauri Doyle, Ruth Kroner, Alison Swanson and Eugene Gatewood. Board member Jennifer Johnson abstained.
A number of parents who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting prior to the board vote were opposed to a mask mandate.
“This has been such a polarizing issue,” board member Lauri Doyle said.
The debate began last year when guidelines required masks, she said.
“Since that happened, I cannot believe the antagonism over a piece of cloth,” Doyle said. “It has consumed our community to the divisiveness that we will then bully children, parents or board members over their personal choices on what health precautions they want to take. I would recommend to all of our students and staff let everyone make their own choices.
“Let’s let our lives return to education,” she said to applause before the board’s vote.
Students, however, will still have to wear masks while traveling on District 308 school buses, in keeping with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Sparlin said.
According to information on the district’s website, it is the CDC’s recommendation that masks be worn indoors by all individuals ages 2 and older who are not fully vaccinated.
With the board’s vote, the district will not have a masking mandate when school opens next month. Additionally, the district does not have a policy requiring students and staff to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status, according to the district’s website.
The statement on the website further informs families that the district will not tolerate the bullying of individuals for wearing or not wearing a mask.
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“If we see spikes (in COVID-19 cases) we will revisit this,” Sparlin told the board of the decision on masks. “It is important for families to ensure they are not sending their kids to school when they are not feeling well or showing signs or symptoms of COVID. We will continue to hope that students get vaccinated – that is the CDC’S recommendation. We also understand it is a personal choice for parents and students to get vaccinated. We will pivot if needed if the metrics change.”
The lifting of the mask mandate is part of the district’s development of a comprehensive COVID-19 safety plan that will be released to families, staff and the community once it is finalized, officials said.
The district’s COVID-19 prevention strategies will continue to include social distancing to the extent possible, increased ventilation, daily cleaning and sanitization, reporting and tracing cases of COVID-19 among students and staff and exclusion of persons who are symptomatic from all district buildings, according to a statement on the District 308 website.
District administrators will closely monitor possible exposure and transmission of COVID-19 in schools and respond with additional measures if needed, officials said. Metrics and mitigation measures will continue to be published on the district website and shared with parents and staff, officials said.
“I am excited to report every school and department across the district is busy planning for the return of school next month,” Sparlin said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.