Pioneer, Logan schools announce temporary mask mandates

Sep. 3—Two school districts in Cass County added temporary mask mandates to their COVID-19 guidelines to begin next week, while another announced it will discuss mask policies at a meeting next week.

Logansport Community School Corporation will require all students to wear masks, and Pioneer Regional School Corporation will require all students and staff to wear masks when in-person learning resumes on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

Lewis Cass Schools announced pre-K through fifth grade will return to school as normal on Tuesday, Sept. 7, but all students in grades six through 12 will have virtual learning from Tuesday, Sept. 7, through Friday, Sept. 10. Those students will return to school on Sept. 13.

Lewis Cass superintendent Tim Garland also announced the school board will discuss mask policies at its next meeting 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8, in the high school auditorium. If a vote is taken and passes, masks would be required starting Sept. 13.

Logansport Community School Corporation

In the 20 days since the opening of this school year, there have been 901 individuals either quarantined or isolated and 48 individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. In the first 20 days of the previous school year, 178 individuals were either quarantined or isolated, and six people tested positive for the virus.

In a statement on its website, LCSC said it will require all students to wear a mask while riding an LCSC bus and at all times while in a school building with certain exceptions: strenuous activity, meal times, outdoor recess, physician's release or inability to wear a mask due to a disability.

The school will have masks available at the main office.

The mask mandate will be in effect through Sept. 30, when the corporation will reevaluate the need, depending on the numbers.

Pioneer Regional School Corporation

Superintendent Dr. Charles Grable sent a letter to parents on Friday explaining the decision for the temporary mask mandate and said the district's guidelines needed to be changed in response to an an executive order from Gov. Eric Holcomb.

The Sept. 1 order required school districts to follow state statutes and adhere to the quarantine guidelines established by the CDC and Indiana State Department of Health. It also stated school boards may implement restrictions and measures that are more restrictive than the guidelines, but boards may not implement anything that is less restrictive than the guidelines.

"Our plan was less restrictive than CDC and ISDH guidelines," Grable said in the letter.

The current guidelines that schools must follow eliminate the requirement of a close contact to quarantine if both the person testing positive and the close contacts are properly wearing masks at the time of exposure.

"In other words, if everyone is wearing a mask properly, a student does not have to quarantine for being a close contact," Grable said.

After 17 days of school this year, Pioneer has confirmed 18 positive cases at the elementary school and 20 at the junior/senior high. An additional 125 elementary and 129 junior/senior high students are on quarantine. In the whole 2020-21 school year, Pioneer had 24 positive cases at the elementary school and 36 at the junior/senior high.

No end date for the mandate has been established. The school board will review the mandate each month.

"Masks should completely cover the nose and mouth, have at least two layers of breathable fabric (should block out light when held up to a bright light source), and be washed regularly," the statement said. "Masks made of mesh, containing a vent or exhalation valve, or a single layer of fabric will not be allowed.

"This mandate should greatly reduce the number of quarantines due to close contacts. However, it will not eliminate all quarantines."

Grable said there may be times during the day when younger students may remove the masks while in the classroom or outside, as long as they are able to social distance.

Masks will be recommended for adult spectators at athletic and ECA events, but not required. However, they will be required for Pioneer students attending the events whenever they are sitting together or going to the concession stands or restrooms.

"We know from the data that students learn best while in school vs. virtual," Grable said. "Based on the factors shared in this letter, this is our best hope of keeping our students in school."