Five teachers booted from Jupiter school for refusing to wear masks

JUPITER – Five teachers were sent home from Limestone Creek Elementary last week for refusing to wear masks on campus, a school district spokeswoman confirmed.

The teachers were instructed to leave campus Thursday for violating the Palm Beach County School District’s mask policy, which requires all employees and visitors to wear facial coverings while indoors on campus. State law prohibits mask requirements for students.

More: Palm Beach County schools to impose mask mandate for staff, visitors when classes resume

School district spokeswoman Claudia Shea said the teachers were sent home with pay on Thursday, the first day they refused to wear masks.

The teachers remained off duty Friday and Monday, she said, although she could not confirm whether they continued to receive pay.

The five teachers, who she declined to identify, are now the subject of a personnel investigation and could face disciplinary action, Shea said.

The teachers' absence from campus comes amid widespread staffing shortages at the county's public schools, which have been worsened by the spike in coronavirus cases this month.

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In addition to reducing contagion, the school district has called its mask mandate a strategy to dampen the impact of staffing shortfalls.

"Facial coverings serve as a mitigating factor in helping to control the spread of COVID-19, and in doing so, keeping our students and staff healthy, while reducing absenteeism and staffing shortages," district officials said in a letter to parents last week.

The teachers are “invited to come back” to campus when they agree to abide by the school district’s mask rules, she said. She called the incident at Limestone Creek an aberration and said the district has faced few cases of teachers refusing to wear masks.

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“The great, great, great majority of employees are following the rules,” she said.

Justin Katz, president of the county teachers union, said he was not aware of any other cases of multiple teachers at a single school refusing to wear masks since the district re-imposed a mask mandate for employees Jan. 4.

“You can count those refusing with fingers to spare,” he said.

Limestone Creek, located north of Indiantown Road and east of Interstate 95, educates 970 students.

amarra@pbpost.com

@AMarranara

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Limestone Creek teachers sent home for refusing to wear masks