Local school districts opt to keep masks

All three school districts in Whitley County will continue enforcing a mask policy for students and staff while indoors at least for now.

During a special legislative session last week, the Kentucky General Assembly voted to end a state mandate on masking in schools, and to give local school boards the power to make that decision.

Whitley County Superintendent John Siler said Tuesday afternoon that the district has decided to continue the policy of masking for students.

Siler noted if the district were to do away with the requirement that students wear a mask, then student desks would have to be socially distanced six feet apart rather than three feet apart, which is the requirement when masks are in use.

“That is not manageable. That is no doable,” Siler said about six-foot social distancing between desks in the classroom. “Our primary goal is to keep the students in class, in person. Last year when we were on virtual and hybrid models for most of the school year, many, many parents spoke to me, board members, principals, and teachers about how they wanted their children back in the classroom.”

On Tuesday, the Whitley County School District already had about 20 days of in-person instruction completed.

“I think that we have proven we are capable of doing that, but with masks the requirement of six feet drops to three feet. Almost every classroom in the district can maintain three feet of social distancing between desks. One of the positives also of having masks is that it allows us to follow the guidelines for social distancing of only three feet,” Siler added.

During a special called meeting Tuesday evening, the Williamsburg Independent Board of Education voted to unanimously approve the Williamsburg Independent School District Operation Procedures.

The document outlines nine measures the district will use to ensure the safety of all students.

The nine measures include: promoting vaccination, wearing masks, physical distancing, screening testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, isolation, quarantine and contacting tracing, and cleaning and disinfecting.

“We can mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19 for in-person school learning and prevent the significant consequences of keeping students out of school and isolated by self-monitoring,” states the operation procedures document. “It will take all of us working together to make this successful.”

The Corbin Independent School District is also maintaining mask wearing for students at least through the end of the month.

“Per the Corbin School Board meeting on September 9, we will continue to require masks until the next scheduled meeting (October 1, 2021) where we will reassess. We are working with our community healthcare partners on our COVID-19 mitigation strategies including implementation and development of the measures in Senate Bill 1. Our goal is safe, in-person learning for our students and staff,” the school district stated on its website recently.