District superintendent: Masks in schools optional “until further notice”

Updated January 25, 2022, 6:03pm: Late this afternoon, a New York State appeals court judge granted a stay in the lawsuit over the school mask mandate. The mask mandate will remain in place while the ruling is appealed.

Yesterday, Judge Thomas Rademaker, a State Supreme Court judge in Nassau County, ruled that Governor Kathy Hochul’s statewide mandate ordering all students and staff to wear masks indoors at schools is unconstitutional. Within hours, Gov. Hochul responded that the state would appeal Rademaker’s decision. “We strongly disagree with this ruling, and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately,” she said.

Following Rademaker’s ruling, school officials throughout Long Island, including in the Northport-East Northport school district, announced a new “masks optional” policy, effective immediately.

Last night, at 10:53pm, Superintendent of Schools Robert Banzer sent district parents an email stating that the district had “received conflicting information” about mask wearing in schools but that in compliance with Rademaker’s ruling, “masks will be optional in schools beginning tomorrow, January 25, 2022 until further notice.”

He added that the Attorney General took the position that the filing of an appeal “automatically stays the Court’s decision,” and that the Commissioner of Education sent an email that the appeal would be forthcoming and advised school districts to continue to require masks in schools.

“Please note that should the appeal go into effect; the mask mandate will then be reinstated,” the superintendent added.

This morning, at 8:36am, Banzer sent out another email stating that it was “unclear if the stay to reinstate masks has gone into effect,” but that it’s very likely the mandate will be reinstated, possibly as soon as today. He also informed parents that mask wearing on buses is still required per federal mandate.

In a letter sent to Superintendent Banzer and board of education members this morning (and later shared with the Northport Journal by it authors), the King family of Northport wrote:

“Because you were aware that the mask ruling would be appealed and that that appeal would stay a decision issued by a Nassau County Court, we are surprised that you would send a late-night email essentially stating that the mask mandate would not be in effect for a number of hours before the Attorney General’s inevitable appeal was docketed. Your email created confusion and may have put the health and safety of students and staff at risk. More deliberation and thought should’ve been exhibited by you and the Board here.”

According to a school district official familiar with the situation, however, Superintendent Banzer made the late-night decision after “consultation with attorneys” and did not have a conversation with the board of education before sending out yesterday evening’s email.

The board of education is expected to convene into an emergency executive session via Zoom at 6pm tonight “to discuss matters pertaining to potential litigation,” according to the district website. Executive sessions are not open to the public.