Burrell makes mask-wearing optional

Burrell School Board unanimously approved a health and safety plan that makes mask-wearing optional for students and staff in district buildings.

“We wanted to make the mask optional to give parents and staff the freedom to decide,” said board President Pam Key.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended but not mandated universal masking of school students and staff. The agency has mandated that riders on public transportation wear masks, including all students and staff on school buses.

Although Burrell students won’t be required to wear masks in school buildings, classrooms will have masks on hand for students who want to wear them, according to the district’s plan.

Key said a survey of district parents showed most of them preferred an optional mask-wearing policy.

Also factoring into the board’s decision, Key said, was that the district is not being hit hard by covid cases at the moment.

“If Superintendent (Shannon) Wagner and the school board agree that cases reach a substantial (level) or there is a mandate to wear masks, we will follow the mandate,” Key said.

Last school year, Burrell was one of the few area school districts to offer in-person instruction five days a week. Key said there were few cases of covid-19 reported.

The school board and Wagner said they want to ensure the safety of other students when someone tests positive.

“With making masks optional, accountability comes with that,” said board member Rachel Linderman. “You are accountable for those choices if you come into this school.”

If a student tests positive, she said they have a responsibility to alert people at school.

If someone who is fully vaccinated is exposed to covid-19, they should be tested two to five days after their exposure, according to the district plan.

They should wear a mask indoors until their test results come back. If their test is positive, they will quarantine. If it’s negative, there is nothing more that they have to do.

For students who were exposed to covid-19 and do not get tested, they will have to wear a mask for 14 calendar days after exposure.

Students will have the option of attending classes in person or virtually. Students will be able to switch their decision after the first semester.

Last year, some students who were attending in person chose to learn remotely on Fridays and Mondays, Wagner said.

“It was a nightmare for the teaching staff to make sure they could deliver their instruction with integrity,” she said.

Details of the new plan can be found on Burrell’s website.