Most Centre County school districts return to optional masking after PA mandate is thrown out
Some Centre County schools are allowing masks to be optional after the statewide mask mandate for Pennsylvania K-12 school buildings and child care facilities was invalidated by the state Supreme Court on Friday.
Bellefonte, Bald Eagle, Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola area school districts have returned to optional masking, as outlined in their health and safety plans. State College Area School District will continue to require masks while indoors, following its health and safety plan. A federal rule that requires face coverings on school buses and district transportation will remain in effect for all.
SCASD Superintendent Bob O’Donnell wrote in a letter to parents that the mandatory masking policy will remain at the district because Centre County’s community transmission is high and Mount Nittany Medical Center is “experiencing elevated levels of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.”
“As always, our priority remains to be able to offer in-person learning with as few students as possible missing school due to isolation or quarantine,” O’Donnell wrote. “To that end, we believe masking will keep more students in school and, thus, it remains an important mitigation effort at this time.”
The daily average of COVID-19 patients at Mount Nittany Medical Center is at the highest point of the pandemic, officials said Friday. Mount Nittany, the only hospital in Centre County, did not accept ambulances the night of Dec. 2. There were 594 reported cases in the county from Dec. 4-10, and six new deaths were reported to bring the county’s total to 267.
In letters to parents, district superintendents urged parents to keep their kids home if they’re feeling sick.
“The COVID virus is worse now than when the mask mandate went into effect. I would ask that parents continue to keep your children home if they are sick. We need to work together to keep COVID case numbers low in the schools,” Scott Graham, BEASD Superintendent, wrote.
Penns Valley’s superintendent, Brian Griffith, echoed that in his letter to parents and said that an increase in quarantines can be expected.
“With the masking order lifted and given that the definition for close contact remains unchanged, we anticipate a significant increase in the number of students being potentially excluded from school because of quarantine,” Griffith wrote. “For now, we will continue to contact trace, but may need to revise our process given the time-consuming nature of the task and the student exclusions from school.”
Districts will continue other mitigation strategies. Bellefonte and Penns Valley both noted they’ll continue with some social distancing and sending students home who are sick. Penns Valley will offer free, voluntary rapid tests to students and staff with two or more “less serious symptoms” like a cough, headache or stuffy nose. On Saturday, Graham wrote that a letter outlining what the district plans to do moving forward will be sent home on Monday.
The threat of closing schools and moving to remote learning remains a threat, whether it is due to high case counts or not having adequate staffing.
“... According to current PA DoH and PDE guidelines, if COVID cases reach a critical level within a school, families should also know that we may be required to close our schools or move to full remote learning at a moment’s notice,” Tammie Burnaford, BASD superintendent, wrote. “In addition, if we do not have adequate staffing, we also may have to close our schools or move to fully remote learning. We are currently facing some severe staffing shortages, but we have been able to make it work due to the extraordinary efforts of our staff.”
Mask mandates were a heavily debated topic at school board meetings earlier this school year, mostly among parents and others — including state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-McElhattan — during public comment periods.
Penn State recently announced that its current policy of requiring everyone to mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status, will stay in effect as the spring semester begins next month.
