School board extends mask mandate through Dec. 17
ACSD’s mask policy could end after the holidays now that most students can get vaccinated. Trustees discussed the possibility of a mask-optional spring semester, but warned against moving too quickly.
Universal indoor masking will be required in Albany County schools through the end of the calendar year, following action by the district’s school board Wednesday.
Several board members discussed the possibility of ending the mandate after that point, “exiting” the current COVID-19 policy in time for the students’ return in January.
“I think we should start signaling that we’re going to start looking for that off-ramp,” Trustee Lawrence Perea said. “If we can exit the off-ramp without losing control of the vehicle, so to speak, I think it’s most important that we do it slowly and allow for the community transmission to get in the yellow … but let’s do this mindfully and deliberately so we can transition to a more normal type of school setting.”
The board approved an extension of the district mask policy through Dec. 17, which is the final day before winter break. Albany County is currently seeing a moderate level of transmission with a little more than 100 confirmed active cases. Deaths continue to rise but at a slower rate. Between the school board’s September and October meeting, Albany County lost 13 people. Between the October meeting and now, the county has seen five deaths.
Superintendent Jubal Yennie told the board that transmission is decreasing in the schools as well.
“Things are moving in the right direction at this point,” Yennie said. “There doesn’t seem to be anything at this point to recommend a deviation or change in our current policy. We’re trying to get to that moderate or yellow level so we have lower transmission in the community … I’m encouraged by where we’re headed, but I think we probably need to stay the course.”
The board first approved a mandate in September and has extended that mandate at every regular meeting since.
To call masking a controversial issue would be understating the case. Anti-mask protesters shut down two meetings, once by howling and screaming over the county health officer and again the next week by refusing to abide by the mask policy for the duration of public comments.
The school district now faces a lawsuit brought on by a former high school student and her father, who have led a loud and occasionally national campaign against the district’s mask policy.
But the school board meetings themselves have grown less heated as fewer and fewer commenters have attended each. There were no public comments regarding the mask policy during the board’s meeting Wednesday.
Instead, the discussion was driven by a new development — the approval of vaccines for those aged 5 to 11 years old.
Trustee Jason Tangeman said this news alleviates one of the concerns behind the original mandate — that children under 12 were not allowed to be vaccinated.
“At this point, people can make the choice to have their children vaccinated or not,” Tangeman said. “I think we need to consider past statements that we’ve made as the board. It was really driven by vaccination and the lack of the ability to vaccinate kids under the age of 12.”
While COVID-19 poses less of a risk to children than to adults, it still poses a significant risk. As the delta variant began tearing through the country, COVID-19 became the sixth or seventh leading cause of death for children 14 and younger. Children can also carry the virus and infect older individuals in their families and communities for whom COVID-19 is now one of the leading causes of death.
Vaccination greatly reduces one’s chances of needing hospitalization or dying from COVID-19. Given the high degree of individual protection afforded by the vaccines, several on the school board suggested students could soon feel safe sitting in class unmasked.
Tangeman floated the idea of ending the mandate after the Thanksgiving break, but others recommended instead ending the mask policy after the winter break.
Trustee Beth Bear said this would give families time to get two shots, and to have two weeks after the final shot, allowing for the vaccine to take full effect.
“I would like us to see discussing masks going optional,” Bear said. “Certainly after Christmas break, we would be there.”
Perea said the longer timeline would benefit everyone, not just those getting vaccinated.
“I think that would probably be the right thing to do — give people something to look forward to, give people the opportunity to get their children vaccinated if they want to be vaccinated,” he said. “And continue to increase herd immunity for those who continue to spread the delta variant for not being vaccinated — so we can hopefully get to a better place in our community and in our schools.”
Trustee Kim Sorenson supported the end-of-winter-break timeline, but warned that the district should not give up the policy prematurely.
“As we start migrating indoors, we need to be mindful not to pull the plug and celebrate too early,” he said. “With all our activities and almost everything going indoors, we’ve got indoor holidays — let’s not pull the plug too early. But I look forward to January more than I can say.”
The board voted 7-1 to extend the mandate to winter break, with only Tangeman voting against.
The board also voted, unanimously, to allocate another 300 days of COVID-19 leave for district employees. Yennie said the district had nearly expended its earlier allocation of 300.