Schools and mask mandates: Urbana’s next move?

With the mask mandate coming to an end in Illinois after 668 days, students are questioning if, and when, there will be changes at Urbana. Teachers and students chimed in on their thoughts on removing the mask mandate in the middle of the school year.

Sophomore Sakari Wright doesn’t think keeping or removing the mask mandate will make much of a difference.

“It doesn’t matter because people who don’t want to wear their masks [already] don’t, and the ones who do [want to wear their masks], will,” she said.

Teacher David Dutton thinks the mandate should last for the rest of the year.

“I would not change it mid school year,” he said. “I would think that USD116 will need to continue the mask mandate at least through the end of this year, mainly because we are in close proximity to one another with little ventilation and we need to protect those students and staff members most vulnerable to the virus, especially given that my guess is many students are not fully vaccinated,” he said.

Gwen MacDougall sides with Dutton and thinks it’s not a good idea to remove the mask mandate at this time.

“It would be a bad idea. High schoolers and student teachers who are college students travel places during the holidays and throughout the school year, and they could bring Covid back to our school. We just can’t take that risk with anyone right now,” MacDougall said.

P.E. teacher Phil Sexton supports lifting the mask mandate, favoring instead to make it a personal choice, regardless of vaccination status.

In an email to staff on Sunday, Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Ivory-Tatum wrote that “At our February 15, 2022 Board Meeting, our Board recommitted to following our current masking policy. Moving forward, our local decisions will need to continue to comply with Illinois law, including IDPH quarantine and modified quarantine rules. The Board will discuss our local decision at our next Board Meeting on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Until that time, we expect staff and students to continue wearing masks to comply with our current Board policy and Memorandum of Agreement with staff to wear masks while at school and on our buses.”

The situation is ongoing and will be updated after tomorrow’s board meeting.

Update: On Tuesday, March 2nd Urbana staff, students, and families were informed that the mask mandate would be upheld, at least through spring break.

Katherine Tellez, Director of Marketing and Communication wrote, “During the discussion, many board members voiced support for keeping our current masking policy in place. When it came time for a vote to take action on amending the policy, there was no motion, meaning the item was dropped and the policy will remain in effect as-is.

This means all staff, students and visitors will still be required to wear face coverings in all of our buildings and on buses. The District will re-evaluate and reassess our position after Spring Break.

We understand this decision will not make everyone happy, but USD is committed to keeping everyone safe.”