MARSHALL — Marshall Public Schools is planning for “as normal a school year as possible,” while still keeping students and school staff safe, Superintendent Jeremy Williams said. The proposed COVID-19 safety protocols Williams shared with Marshall School Board members on Monday included guidance on social distancing and contact tracing, but it looks like masks will not be required in the classroom this fall.
“Masks are the big question we’re getting,” Williams said. “The CDC and MDH is recommending masks, they’re not required. That’s what we’re proposing we do in schools here as well, except for the buses — it is required on transportation.”
School board member Sara Runchey said she was “definitely concerned” by the idea of starting the school year without a mask mandate, while other school board members expressed support for the idea of letting families decide whether to have their children wear masks.
“I know we’re going to have community members that feel both ways,” Williams said. “It’s trying to find that balance, and knowing we’re going to have to continue to watch as the year goes on. That’s why I wanted to have this conversation here and see, where is the board at with things?”
Williams said MPS has been working with Minnesota Department of Health guidance and input from other area schools, school nurses and area public health.
“I know this is a topic that there’s a lot of opinions on, and we’re really trying to put together the science with it, and the guidance and what makes sense for the school district,” Williams said. “First off, I want to remind families and staff that COVID isn’t over.”
One of the biggest things to remind families and staff about is to stay home if they are sick, Williams said. Other protocols include using a three-foot social distance as much as possible in the classroom, and expecting staff and students to continue to self-screen for COVID symptoms before coming to school.
“If you’ve tested positive you’d isolate at home for 10 days, that’s similar to what it’s been in the past,” Williams said. “We would encourage testing of everyone in the room that the student was in,” after five days from their last exposure to the student, he said.
Williams said school nurses at MPS will continue to do contact tracing at Marshall schools, and the district would also continue to maintain a COVID-19 dashboard online.
Runchey said she would be in favor of starting the school year with a mask requirement. With numbers of COVID-19 cases rising and children being unvaccinated, she said, “I think it’s a mistake at this point not to start with an expectation of masking.”
“It’s easier to back away from a mask policy than to create one after we’ve made an announcement that at this point masks are not going to be required,” Runchey said.
A 6-year-old student attending Park Side Elementary died earlier this year from complications of COVID-19, Runchey said.
Other board members said they were leaning more toward encouraging masks, but not making them a requirement.
“My thought would be, we’re certainly recommending students wear masks” in the proposed protocols, said board member Aaron Ziemer.
“Parents always have the option to mask their children if they so choose,” said school board member Bill Swope.
“I think it’s a moving document,” said school board member Jeff Chapman. If guidance or conditions change, the school district can change its protocols.
Williams said much like last year, MPS would likely need to change safety protocols as data changes. He said he would like to have the school board’s continued support for MPS administration to have the authority to make safety protocol decisions without having to wait for a school board meeting.
“I’m not necessarily asking for the board to have the final authority on that, other than the support with it and the conversation around it,” Williams said.
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August 04, 2021 at 12:03PM
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