USD 383 board sets date for special meeting to review mask mandate, reopening plan

Aug. 5—The Manhattan-Ogden school board set Aug. 11 as the date for a special meeting to consider making mask-wearing mandatory for the first five weeks of the school year.

Board members did not take a vote on the Aug. 11 special meeting date, but instead agreed to it by consensus at their meeting Wednesday. The special meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the Robinson Education Center.

District superintendent Marvin Wade proposed a revision to the district's reopening plan to require all students and staff to "wear a mask when indoors on USD 383 property through September 24, 2021, regardless of vaccination status."

Wade told board members that with the more dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus spreading and local vaccinations rates "not as high as we'd like to see to feel safe in schools," the mask requirement will be a major "tool in the toolbox" for administrators to use as children return to class in-person five days a week starting Aug. 18.

"Masking is probably number two on the list of things we can do to keep our kids and teachers safe, after vaccinating," Wade said.

Wade said the Sept. 24 end date gives district administrators time to collect data on COVID-19 locally and then reevaluate policies as needed.

The previous reopening plan only "strongly encouraged" unvaccinated people to wear masks while inside district buildings. The district let its mask mandate expire when the 2020-21 school year ended.

Last month, district officials announced that masks would be required again in all USD 383 buildings. Wade told The Mercury the shift in policy came after consulting with the district's medical advisory committee July 27. That committee includes USD 383 board members Jurdene Coleman and Karla Hagemeister, local doctors, and Riley County Health Department director Julie Gibbs.

A dozen people spoke during public comment period on the mask matter; around 40 people in total attended the meeting. Several commenters said they believe masks do not work and only offer a false sense of security.

Manhattan resident Joe Lister said he believes making children wear a mask in class all day is "borderline child abuse." Eisenhower Middle School library clerk Keri Mills said she disagrees with the notion of a mask mandate and said it "should be up to the parents" whether their children wear a mask to school.

Mills said she would like to see "members of the school board represent those who elected them by listening to their input." Northview Elementary School music teacher Laurie Davis told board members she felt any intervention like the use of masks to reduce or prevent the spread of a viral infection "must cause less harm to the recipient than the infection."

"Wearing a mask comes with a host of physiological and psychological problems," Davis said.

Davis, along with other commenters, falsely claimed that wearing masks causes an oxygen deficiency. Kyle Goerl, K-State's Lafene Health Center director and medical advisory committee member, said the study that originally made those claims was proven incorrect by scientists and the data collected was "inaccurate."

"There are zero high quality studies that show there's any negative health effects from wearing a mask," Goerl said. "The original study on that was withdrawn because it was poorly conducted."

Goerl said healthcare professionals wear N95 masks for eight to ten-hour shifts at a time with no adverse effects. He said masks help by keeping the people wearing them from potentially spreading the virus to others, rather than blocking the virus from infecting the wearer. He said he doesn't like wearing them, but as a parent of a child attending Marlatt Elementary this fall, he supports students wearing masks.

Manhattan pediatrician and advisory committee member Kate Dove told the board that even though children under the age of 18 often recover from COVID-19 more quickly and have milder symptoms, the lasting effects of the virus are still challenging. She said one of her youth patients still has not regained their senses of taste and smell eight months after battling the virus.

"This should be a success story, as that child wasn't hospitalized, but their life is significantly affected by this," Dove said.

She said another of her patients still has an elevated resting heart rate and heavy fatigue even after a medically mild case of COVID-19. Dove said many of the children she is seeing ahead of the new school year are excited to return to class in-person and that their "mental health is in a much better place" after a year of hybrid learning and limited social interaction.

She said she and the other medical professionals on the committee are aware of the mental and emotional challenges that stem from the pandemic and mask-wearing, and those challenges will need to be addressed.

Amanda Arnold Elementary principal Kathy Stitt told the board the district's principals are ready for the new year, having perfected their approaches to teaching and learning during a pandemic.

"We hate it, but we'll do it," Stitt said. "If we're ever going to close the pandemic learning gap, we've got to keep those kids in school. I hate wearing a mask, too, but I'm a leader and I must wear it."

Children with special needs or speech impediments who cannot wear masks are given clear face shields to wear instead, and Plexiglass dividers remain set up in some classrooms. The draft of the reopening plan also includes continued virus mitigation steps, including recommending frequent handwashing, the use of hand sanitizing stations, and avoiding physical contact like high-fives and hugs.

Board member Curt Herrman said he "would not question the credibility" of the medical advisory group, and that he supports a mask rule.

Fellow board member Brandy Santos said she feels the district is "overstepping their authority" by mandating mask-wearing.

"This administration and the board should not be making these medical decisions on behalf of our children," Santos said. "Individuals should be able to consult with their doctor about what's best for them."

Herrman said he "couldn't live with himself" if the district didn't do the "bare minimum" in keeping children safe.

Board vice-president Kristin Brighton said she thinks doing the mask rule for only a few weeks "is a great idea" and gives district administrators a chance to "see what happens with the delta variant, get everything stabilized, and then reassess month by month."