The West Aurora School District Board Monday night was in agreement with the decision of district leadership to keep its mask mandate in place pending any future legal rulings on COVID-19 mitigation procedures in Illinois.
The West Aurora School Board at Monday’s meeting removed from the agenda a discussion item on mitigation strategies and a follow-up action item on mitigation measures.
The two items will be revisited as appropriate in the future, West Aurora School Board President Richard Kerns said.
The discussion comes after a judge’s recent ruling that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 mask mandate for schools was authorized illegally.
Meanwhile, the Illinois attorney general’s office filed an appeal Monday, demanding a stay to Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow’s Friday decision to grant a request from downstate attorney Tom DeVore to temporarily roll back the governor’s executive orders on masking and quarantining for schools.
In her ruling, the judge sided with about 700 parents who signed onto a lawsuit against 146 school districts alleging that students who object to wearing masks or being excluded from school for being a COVID-19 close contact are entitled to due process.
West Aurora is not one of the districts named in the lawsuit.
While some school districts in the Fox Valley canceled classes Monday to allow officials time to come to grips with the new ruling, West Aurora students were in the classroom for a normal school day.
West Aurora Superintendent Jeff Craig posted a message to families and staff Monday morning about the recent ruling. The message said that the district’s mitigation strategies including a mask mandate would remain in place as the legal process concerning the issues plays out over the next few weeks.
West Aurora School District 129 was not among the named school districts in the lawsuit, “therefore, this ruling has no immediate impact on our COVID-19 mitigation measures,” Craig said.
Craig said the district anticipates there will be a stay ordered, which could be followed by an appeal process which would unfold over the next few weeks.
“In an effort to limit disruption and reduce confusion in our schools, we will continue to follow current mitigation measures for the duration of the legal proceedings,” he said.
Craig at Monday’s board meeting said he met with the district’s principals on Monday about the situation.
“I can’t express enough appreciation and gratitude to them, our students, staff and parents for making this a positive day,” Craig said Monday evening.
Craig said there were at most a couple of kids out of 12,500 students who challenged the mask mandate on Monday.
“Our folks were extremely respectful of each other,” he said. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of our entire district. We showed some real mettle. It was a great start to the week and a great start in this tough process.”
Craig said he understands what families are going through and that many have different opinions concerning the mask mandate.
“We know this is a tough conversation and there are strong feelings on both sides of this. I am sure I am off of some Christmas lists for next year. But I am not here to win a popularity contest. I am trying to make sure we meet the mission of getting all of our kids in school every day, all day for the rest of the year,” Craig said.
Craig said he hears the frustration from parents as the pandemic lingers.
“We have been on the run for 23 months. We also just can’t rip the Band-Aid off right now. This is a time for us to reach out to our health agencies, craft the plan and lay it out for everybody,” he said.
Board member Melody Saperston said her decisions on the issue impact her own school-aged children as well as the rest of the students in the district.
“We are not a named school district in the lawsuit hence we are required to follow the governor’s executive orders that were extended Feb. 4 to comply with the mask mandate,” Saperston said.
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Kerns and Saperston encouraged families to research what is best for them when the time comes when masks become optional in the future.
“I am hopeful and optimistic we can all move forward together in a positive and productive manner in the upcoming weeks,” Saperston said.
She said given the legal situation concerning the mandate, it is best for the district to stay the course with its current COVID-19 mitigations.
“I do not think it is in the best interest of students, staff and community to change our mask policy for an extremely short amount of time while legal proceedings unfold,” Saperston said. “Our students and staff deserve a clear and consistent mask policy. They do not deserve a policy that changes from day-to-day.”
West Aurora’s measures to fight COVID-19 include mandatory masking for students, staff and visitors; close contact quarantine requirements for those who do not qualify for, or do not elect to participate in, the test-to-stay program; weekly testing for unvaccinated staff members; and required isolation for individuals with COVID-19.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.