None of the Salem Community High School board members were happy about it, but the board voted Monday night to mandate students and staff to wear masks indoors for the start of the school year as required by the Governor.
The decision came after several community residents argued COVID-19 did not take as many lives as other causes among young people and the masks themselves have been shown to carry other disease-causing bacteria.
Among them was Alyssa Hamshew who said she would be pulling her son out of school because he cannot wear a mask.
“How far is it going to go? How many more things are going to come about where we are rolling over playing dead saying ok we will do what you say? Not everything is ok.”
But Attorney Matt Wilzbach told the school board the mask mandate was not their call and jeopardized seniors like his son if the school lost accreditation.
“There are proper mechanisms to determine this. It’s going to be answered through the courts, that’s the right way to do it. I don’t want my son’s future to be at risk for a vote that wouldn’t have impact anyway, just risking our recognition.”
Superintendent Dr. Brad Detering is also unhappy about the loss of local control and plans to join other superintendents at the State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday to push for changes.
But Detering added now is not the time to let down as they start the school year with ten positive COVID-19 cases and 19 on quarantine.
“We’ve already had a higher number of positive cases before school has even started with our student body than we had at any point in time during the 2020-21 school year. So there is an issue. Our internal metrics don’t allow us to look the other way on this. In the return to learn plan, there is a mechanism if our internal positivity rate which includes close contacts, and our community rates are low enough, we will go back and look at this to a possible mask recommended policy.”
Detering says students will be allowed to remove their masks to eat lunch in the cafeteria which will return to normal as much as possible. He says students will also be able to go outside after lunch and most physical education classes will be held outside to allow for students to remove their masks. Homeroom teachers will also be allowed to move outside.
Detering says there is one positive to the state’s current mask mandate.
“Following the IDPH guidelines when students are masks and the 3-feet rule is not in effect if people are properly wearing their mask.”
So Detering says that should mean far fewer students being quarantined due to close contact this school year.
