Students in TCSD will mask up to start the year

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The Teton County School District board of trustees last night voted unanimously in favor of a mask mandate to begin school next week.

The school board held a special meeting Wednesday night with only one item on the agenda: To mask or not to mask? In the end, the writing was on the chalkboard.

With Teton’s health officer Travis Riddell pursuing a countywide mask mandate—set to go into effect as early as Thursday—and the county risk level bumped to Red, or ‘High’ risk of transmission level due to soaring metrics for the past month, the school board did the only thing it felt it could do if students are to return to the classroom this fall…they voted unanimously to require face coverings in all public school buildings for as long as the county level is red.

The vote aligned with district superintendent Gillian Chapman’s recommendation that masks be required whenever the county was in Orange or Red risk levels; masks would be strongly recommended but not mandatory whenever the county is in Green or Yellow conditions.

After taking some 22 public comments, a majority of which urged trustees to not mandate masks or at least consider an opt out policy, the board debated mostly on how best to react to changing conditions with its  Smart Start plan. The school board will revisit its mask policy its next regularly-scheduled meeting on September 8.

Trustees debate

Trustee Janine Teske, for one, did not like the idea of tying policy to county color codes, saying it could be possible to be in Orange with the community experiencing as little as two confirmed COVID cases a day.

Other trustees focused on countering parents’ pleas to make masks a personal choice and an exercising of some sort of freedoms or independence. Trustee Betsy Carlin called the decision to wear a mask more a matter of “interdependence” rather than independence.

“Opt out might work for your family but we as a board have to think about what is best for the school district as a whole,” she said.

Board chair Keith Gingery said he enjoyed Wednesday’s discuss, particularly in light of previous meetings and email correspondence that was, at times, threatening and bullying, according to board members. Gingery added, for him, it was about weighing and balancing differing viewpoints.

Trustee Bill Scarlett questioned the metrics, pointing out marked differences between what the county reported as positive COVID cases and what the state reported.

“It highlights a larger problem. What numbers do we use?” he said. “Everybody is trying to get to the same place but we all just want to know what are the numbers.”

Trustee Kate Mead countered, “This language comes right out of Travis Riddell’s playbook, which is why you use it.”

Mask reaction

The decision to mask up to start while the county is in Red risk and facing a countywide mask mandate seemed a ‘low barrier to entry’ compromise considering most everyone—teachers and parents alike—agree that kids learn best in the classroom. With no Plan Z, as in Zoom remote learning as a fallback, a mask ask or, in this case, mandate, appeared to be the safest way to protect students and staff for a start to the school year next week.

Still, as has been the case across the state and the nation, a vocal few did not care for the decision, nor the lateness of it—just days before the 2021-22 school year begins.

More than a dozen parents spoke in opposition of requiring masks. Some cited medical studies showing the ineffectiveness of masks to stop germ spread. Others pointed to the harmful effects of face coverings, especially for younger children.

After the meeting, Jamie Young spoke to Jackson Hole Press. Young’s family has been going to Moran Elementary for five generations. The mother of two young children headed to 1st and 2nd grades has been outspoken about the school or the government making decisions for her kids.

“Well, from us as parents I think that nobody loves my child more than me and my husband. And for the school board to think they have the right to make such an encroaching decision as to have a mask on a child eight hours of the day, it’s not like us parents have no choice. We can pull our kids as soon or as late as we want. And if we don’t like the way anything is going with the school; if the school board wants to bring our children into their politics, I think many, many parents will decide to pull their kids and I know many who have already pulled their kids.”

It remains to be seen to what degree enrollment will be affected as some parents, like Young, have declared they will homeschool or transfer their kids to area private schools where masks are optional.

A game-changer might come when vaccinations become available to children under 12. In that case, the district says it may make masks optional across the district.

But for now, add face coverings to your back-to-school list along with No. 2 pencils and backpacks.