Comparing COVID-19 cases at schools with and without mask mandates
Correction: Potterville Public Schools does not have a mask mandate.
Ingham County health officials are lifting an order requiring students and staff to wear masks in schools, effective Feb. 19. Though the decision to mandate masks will now be left up to individual school districts, the change signals the end of a divisive era in local education.
More: Ingham County to lift school mask mandate as omicron wave subsides
Comparing COVID-19 cases at 20 mid-Michigan school districts — including those in Clinton and Eaton counties without mask mandates — paints a foggy picture of the rules' efficacy.
Charlotte Public Schools, which hasn’t had a mask mandate for most of the school year, saw a case rate of roughly 19%, nearly identical to DeWitt Public Schools, Waverly Community Schools and Webberville Community Schools, which all required masks.
Meanwhile, St. Johns Public Schools, which didn't have a mandate all year, had the lowest case rate among 20 mid-Michigan districts, and Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools (no mandate) had the fourth-lowest.
However, Potterville Public Schools and Ovid-Elsie Area Schools, both without mandates, had the third- and fifth-highest case rates respectively.
Lansing School District, the largest district in mid-Michigan at nearly 10,000 students, adopted a mask mandate before school started last fall and has since seen the third-lowest COVID-19 case rate among the reviewed districts.
Superintendent Benjamin Shuldiner said masking is just one piece of the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan.
“It is making sure that you are cohorting your students, you have seating charts, you have masks, you support vaccinations, you have vaccination events,” he said. “The Lansing School District has taken this seriously since day one and continues to provide a series of mitigating strategies to help lower our numbers.”
A mask mandate was discussed at Ovid-Elsie Area Schools, but district leaders ultimately chose to leave the decision up to students and their parents, said Superintendent Ryan Cunningham.
“We still have students and staff contract COVID-19 (vaccinated and unvaccinated) so I don’t know if it will make a difference,” Cunningham said in an email.
Like Ovid-Elsie, Pewamo-Westphalia has considered mask requirements, according to Superintendent Jennifer Goodman. So far, she said, forgoing the mandate has worked for the district, but implementing one remains an option should Ovid-Elsie see an outbreak.
Of course, case rates alone are an incomplete picture of masking's efficacy. In districts without mandates, some students and staff still chose to wear masks. And in schools with mandates, some bent the rules or wore their masks improperly. The numbers also don't account for cases contracted outside the classroom or whether students and staff were vaccinated.
Here’s how approximate case rates compared in 20 mid-Michigan school districts with and without mask mandates.
COVID case rates in districts with no mask mandate:
Potterville Public Schools: 30%
Ovid-Elsie Area Schools: 21%
Charlotte Public Schools: 19%
Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools: 13%
St. Johns Public Schools: 11%
COVID case rates in districts with mask mandate:
Bath Community Schools: 34%
Stockbridge Community Schools: 32%
Leslie Public Schools: 28%
DeWitt Public Schools: 20%
Waverly Community Schools: 20%
Webberville Community Schools: 20%
Grand Ledge Public Schools: 17%
Dansville Schools: 16%
Mason Public Schools: 16%
Okemos Public Schools: 15%
East Lansing Public Schools: 14%
Haslett Public Schools: 14%
Williamston Community Schools: 14%
Lansing School District: 13%
Eaton Rapids Public Schools: 12%
Contact Mark Johnson at (517) 377-1026 or majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Comparing COVID-19 cases at schools with and without mask mandates
