It’s official: Teton County’s K-12 public school students and staff will be required to wear masks at the start of the year, following a special meeting of the local school board Wednesday evening. Discussions between board members over the details of the face covering mandate are likely to continue in the coming weeks in advance of another meeting on Sept. 8.
The decision comes after many members of the public gave passionate testimony on both sides of the debate. Many anti-mask speakers asked to allow parents to make their own decision about whether or not their children should wear face coverings. Meanwhile, several public health officials, including a nurse at St. John’s Medical Center, asked for near-universal mask wearing, as hospital staff currently feel overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. Written public comments were overwhelmingly supportive of masking requirements.
Following public discussion, the school board quibbled over the exact language of the mask mandate. What passed in a unanimous vote, and what’s currently on the books, is a universal requirement based on Teton County’s COVID-19 risk level as determined by metrics designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No exceptions for parents.
If the county falls within the Red (High) or Orange (Moderate) risk level, face coverings will be mandatory. Yellow (Low) or Green (Normal) will mean that masks are recommended. However, those standards could change at a meeting a couple of weeks from now, and the language surrounding how vaccinations could affect mask mandates may be updated as well.
KHOL live-tweeted Wednesday’s board meeting and will carry more coverage from the meeting in the coming days.
Going to try my hand at live tweeting tonight as I cover the Teton County School District meeting. They’ll be considering mask mandates in schools. Follow for updates.
— Will Walkey (@WillWalkey) August 26, 2021
The recommendation from the district superintendent is that masks are required universally when the county is in a high risk level (red or orange), recommended when it’s lower. Lots of deliberation on the details happening
— Will Walkey (@WillWalkey) August 26, 2021
Another member, Jamie Bay Teske, says this has gotten too political, supports masks but is wary about the framework (based on risk level). Also says the goal is keep kids in school.
“Our test scores weren’t what they should be because our kids weren’t getting what they needed.”
— Will Walkey (@WillWalkey) August 26, 2021
It’s looking like the majority of board is in favor of some masking requirements at the start of school. The question is the exact language that the district will use. Public comment about to start.
— Will Walkey (@WillWalkey) August 26, 2021
Board is back and making decisions. The first is to delete any talk of vaccines from the school district start plan for now. It’s just onto what community COVID risk levels will trigger a mask mandate
— Will Walkey (@WillWalkey) August 26, 2021
It’s official, school in Teton County will start next week with a face covering requirement. Unanimous decision
— Will Walkey (@WillWalkey) August 26, 2021
