PCSD School Board votes to rescind mask mandate

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In what was sometimes a heated discussion with a few tense moments thrown in, the Perry County School District No.32 Board of Education made a decision on its mask mandate during a special board meeting on Tuesday in the Perryville Elementary School gymnasium.
After two hours of listening to patron comments and deliberating amongst themselves, the board decided to rescind the mask mandate by a 6-1 vote. The action will become effective on June 1, 2021, with the provisions that the mitigating measures stay in place.
The new mandate will be monitored during the district’s summer school program throughout the month of June and then reevaluated on July 1 based on the number of cases and COVID-19 spread within the county at that time.
The “trial period” during the summer was decided upon to make the best decisions for the collective student body, according to board president Ashley Geringer
Many of the board members reiterated that they do not enjoy wearing masks on a daily basis, but that their top priority is the safety of the students and their education inside the classroom, and as board member Mark Gremaud mentioned the board must “err on the side of caution.”
“We have done things to make things better,” board member Nancy Voelker said. “I hate masks as much as anybody, but I believe that they work to some degree and that we do what’s right.”
The board approved a mask mandate at the board meeting on Dec. 9, ahead of the beginning of the second semester on Jan. 5, 2021.
“We are tasked with making the best choice for a majority of the people that we service,” Geringer said. “We want our kids in school five days a week and we felt at the time that having the kids wear masks was the best way to do that.”
Mandate background
On Nov. 12, Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced changes to the state’s school pandemic procedures. Under the new rules, students and staff who are exposed to COVID-19 while on campus, they may be considered “allowable close contacts” if they are both wearing proper masks.

For the school district to comply with the governor’s announcement, a mask mandate was put in place.
“We just want our kids back in the classroom,” Superintendent Andy Comstock said. “I think that if you asked most parents, they would take having their kids back in school five days per week even if they have to wear masks.”
Under the new protocols, an “allowable close contact” was required to quarantine, but were allowed to teach or learn in the classroom with several precautions including: they are strictly to go to school to learn or teach and go home. They may not participate in sports, extracurricular activities, or social activities.
They were to wear a mask the entire time they are present at school, even when physical distancing or cohorting is possible. Students or staff who were identified as close contacts to positive individuals outside the school setting will be required to quarantine at home, which is the current practice.
The special meeting was set up during last week’s regularly scheduled board meeting on May 12 as a way for the public to voice their opinions on the mask mandate within the district. There were more than 100 community members that attended the meeting with more than one dozen patrons who spoke on the matter. A majority of the comments sided with the rescinding of the mask mandate.
“The school should make an independent choice away from the Perry County Health Department,” community member Glendon Sattler said. “The district should be able to make their own choice along with the parents within the community as to whether their child should wear a mask in public or at school.”
Board member Mary Bauwens was on that side of the issue as well.
“The vaccine is readily available to anyone that wants to get it,” Bauwens said. “With that in mind I am in favor of rescinding the mandate.”
Board member Kevin Bachmann, who voted to keep the mandate in place noted that once the mandate is taken down, it will be tough to convince the public to put the masks back on if conditions get worse.
“If everyone would have voted before the school year in the community, no one would have voted to wear a mask.” Bachmann said. “They are no fun, but it is my opinion that we must continue to use guidance.”
Due to the structure of the meeting, there was very little back-and-forth conversation among the community and the board. To remedy that situation there will be a special town hall meeting to further discuss the issues at hand on June 29. A location will be determined based on size of the expected crowd. No actions will be taken at the town hall.