District adopts a maskless policy when outdoors, holds emergency meeting to discuss shifting guidelines
An emergency board of education meeting held at the William J. Brosnan building yesterday evening inspired lengthy conversation between board members about the state’s loosening of mask mandates for schools. The dialogue fell short on action though, as attendees and those watching on Zoom left the meeting with the same message shared by state and district officials earlier in the day: students, staff and adults will no longer be required to wear masks when outdoors on school property. The statewide mandate requiring the wearing of masks inside schools, however, will remain in place.
The district had been inundated with communications from parents since Friday, when New York State Commissioner of Health Howard Zucker sent a letter to the CDC stating that the state planned to put out new guidance that removed mask requirements for students both in and out of school. The letter read: “If there is any data or science that you are aware of that contradicts moving forward with this approach, please let me know as soon as possible. We plan to make this guidance effective on Monday, June 7.”
Cue the confusion.
It seemed as though the commissioner was not just seeking input on these guideline revisions, but ordering them into action.
“It’s so frustrating, it was a reckless letter that was let out on a Friday afternoon and then left all of us scrambling,” said trustee Victoria Buscareno.
By Sunday, Superintendent Robert Banzer sent out an email in response to Zucker’s letter, which included correspondence from the New York State Department of Education, stating there would be no change to current mask policy and procedure until the district received further guidance. On Monday, the district announced a special emergency board of education meeting to discuss the latest guidance.
Four hours later, and in light of a statement by Governor Andrew Cuomo saying masks could come off outside, and only outside, the district sent another email confirming that effective June 8, students, staff and adults would no longer be required to wear masks outdoors on school property.
“Any student or staff member who wishes to continue wearing a mask outdoors may do so; however as stated, they will not be required,” read the email. “We understand from the many emails that there are varying opinions and levels of comfort with regard to mask wearing, and ask that our entire community be respectful of each individual’s choice to wear a mask outdoors or not.”
While many hoped the requirement for wearing masks indoors would also be lifted, the board expressed that doing so was simply not an option; the district had to follow the direction of the NYS Department of Education or face sanctions for non-compliance.
“It’s a misnomer to call them guidelines,” said the district’s legal counsel, Steven Goodstadt. “They’re really not; there are repercussions [to not following them].” Sanctions for non-compliance include monetary fines, state aid being withheld, and buildings being closed from in-person operations.
On Long Island, three school districts (Sachem Central, Massapequa and Patchogue-Medford) dropped the indoor mask mandate following Commissioner Zucker’s letter, and then quickly had to reinstate it on Monday.
“What we saw today was the convergence of reason with politics and it was completely disgraceful,” said BOE trustee David Stein in response to the governor’s decision to waive the mask requirement outdoors but not indoors. “Personally I think masks should be optional,” Trustee Stein continued, suggesting not that the district “go rogue,” but that it take a more liberal read on current guidelines, including guidance that allows students who are unable to tolerate a mask, for physical or mental health reasons, to not be subject to the mask requirement.
Stein was persistent in his efforts throughout the meeting to convince the board to take some sort of action “to alleviate the next couple of weeks.” He suggested taking plastic barriers (sneeze guards) down or, if the barriers remained, said children should be allowed to take mask breaks at their own discretion when all students are seated, and emphasized how important it was to empower younger elementary-aged children to take their masks off independently when needed.
“There are kids that are sitting there, melting, even before it was hot,” he said. “Something out of this meeting has to produce something actionable for kids… if we walk away from this table without defining something for kids tomorrow, I think we are failing.”
But other board members said teachers are currently allowing mask breaks at their discretion, letting children remove their masks when seated at their desks, or sending students and even entire classes to air-conditioned rooms like the nurse’s office or library when it gets too hot.
By the end of the meeting, the board agreed to craft a letter to the DOH and CDC advocating through administration for the least restrictive environment for children – come September.
Trustee Stein requested that the board also send a set of intentions to district parents, “some hope and dreams statements for our community,” including the collective hope that kids can be mask-free when they return to school in September. “They need to hear from us,” Stein said. “We’re always going to follow the law. These are simple statements I think we can all get behind.”
The board agreed to discuss draft letters at its next board meeting on June 17.
