Mid-Del Schools considering mask mandate
Superintendent Rick Cobb speaks to faculty during the school district’s convocation last month. (Photo by Jeff Harrison)
By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon
The Mid-Del School Board will vote on a mask mandate at special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7.
Under the proposal, all students and staff will be required to wear masks while inside school and administrative buildings and school vehicles including buses.
Students and employees will be allowed to opt-out of the mask mandate for health, religious, or personal reasons. Parents must fill out a form on the district website and return it to their children’s school.
All visitors will also be required to wear a mask inside school district buildings.
The policy will remain in place until:
- The end of the first semester
- A subsequent court ruling reinstates SB 658
- The Mid-Del School Board either amends or ends the policy.
If approved, the mask mandate will go into effect Sept. 8.
Superintendent Rick Cobb said universal masking can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and quarantines while following the district’s goals of “keeping people healthy, and keeping people in school.”
Mid-Del has seen a rise in positive cases and quarantines compared to last school year. The district publishes weekly COVD-19 reports based on Thursday’s numbers. For the week ending yesterday, the district reported 144 known new COVID-19 cases among students and staff and 1,223 active quarantines. That is more than twice as many positive cases as the two highest weekly totals last year, combined. The highest totals last year were 50 on Jan. 14 and 67 on Dec. 17.
The school board does not allow for public participation during special meetings. Instead, students, parents, employees and community members are asked to complete a short online survey at https://forms.gle/CmPcHA8miiTBhTyw9 The feedback will be shared with school board members and administrators.
Responses are due by 8 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 7.
