Local school district leaders are continuing to react to the state’s mask mandate that goes into effect Tuesday at schools and day cares.
The order has caused concerns at Franklin School District, which experienced a near-normal return to school this week compared to last year at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Masks weren’t required this week, social distancing measures were largely removed, and the majority of online-learning students returned in person on Tuesday.
Still, late announcements of mandates at the state level were put upon the school board as they worked through optional state suggestions like hosting a vaccine clinic on school grounds.
Superintendent Mark Loucks said at the Aug. 23 school board meeting that the state’s mandates and announcements that come “out of the woodwork” are making districts look disorganized.
During an Aug. 16 work session, Loucks announced the on-site vaccine clinic would come to a board vote but by the next week, the state had mandated the decision, causing board members and parents to voice their frustrations.
Loucks told the newspaper on Tuesday that he is concerned about Gov. Tom Wolf announcing restrictions “sooner rather than later.”
“He may shut us down again,” Loucks said. “Oh yeah, it’s a concern,” he added.
Loucks pointed his frustrations back toward the state’s indecision and late announcements of mandates.
“I can see there’s a fight brewing in Harrisburg between Democrats and Republicans, and it doesn’t matter what side you are on, we just need answers as a school,” Loucks said.
He said this lack of state guidance causes school districts to forge their plans and programs and extracurriculars, which could potentially be abruptly canceled by state mandates.
“Our legislators need to realize that indecision leads to kids missing out,” Loucks said. “I know they will come to an agreement of some kind and there will be concessions of some kind, but right now we are just treading water waiting to see what direction we will go in.”
The superintendent left off on a hopeful note for this school year.
Loucks said on the district’s Facebook page Thursday that the mask mandate will take effect on Tuesday. He specified that masks are not required outdoors, don’t apply to students participating in athletic practices or events, or in physical education classes when six feet spacing is possible.
Oil City
Meanwhile, Oil City Superintendent Lynda Weller sent out a letter Friday to families about how the district plans to implement the state’s mask order starting next week.
“If wearing a mask during the school day keeps our children in school, then I ask for your cooperation and understanding in having your child comply with the order and wear a mask. I think we can all agree that we do not want to have to shift gears and return to remote learning as we did last school year,” Weller wrote in her letter.
The letter notes that exemptions to wearing a mask may be granted to students with a “documented medical or mental health condition” and directs parents to discuss concerns and needed documentation for an exemption with the principal of their child’s school.
Weller notes the mask order is somewhat different than last year because the mandate doesn’t affect physical education classes or sports events. Eating is also an exception, the letter notes.
Weller also refers to CDC guidance in K-12 classroom settings that says students who were in close contact with a student infected with COVID-19 don’t need to quarantine if both the infected student and the students exposed to COVID “correctly and consistently wore well-fitting masks the entire time.”
