Local school districts opt for flexible mask policies

Jul. 22—As coronavirus cases tick upward in the region, "flexibility" is the key word for local schools as they consider mask usage policies for the upcoming school year.

School districts like Perrysburg, Maumee, and Ottawa Hills have announced that they will likely enter the 2021-2022 academic year with a mask-optional policy for students, faculty, and staff.

That means the districts' students, regardless of vaccination status, may choose to, or elect not to, wear masks in school settings.

"Our current hope is [for the school year] to be as normal as possible," said Adam Fineske, Ottawa Hills' superintendent. "At our board meeting we talked about how our plans might change based on COVID-19 numbers in the community ... we made it really clear that we are staying flexible."

Toledo Public Schools has not made a decision regarding mask-wearing for the upcoming school year, according to a school spokesman.

Washington Local has not formally decided either, but officials are leaning toward K-6 students wearing masks because they are too young to take the vaccine.

The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department has yet to issue an advisory on mask usage in schools. Health Commissioner Eric Zgodzinski told The Blade that the department awaits guidance from the state and national departments of health.

The Ohio Department of Health will revisit and reissue its guidance regarding mask use in schools in the coming days, Mr. Zgodzinski said during a news conference on Wednesday.

"As the Department of Health, it's our role to evaluate the information and offer people the best guidance and recommendations that we can, so that's the approach we're going to be taking," said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, ODH's chief medical officer, during a separate briefing Wednesday.

"Obviously it's going to fall to schools themselves and other entities to examine that information and make that decision," he continued.

Mr. Zgodzinski said there wasn't much disease spread in local classrooms last year.

"But what it's going to look like for schools without masks and with low vaccination rates, we don't know yet," he said.

"Superintendents and principals will need to pivot quickly," he continued. "We're gonna have to logically look at the disease in the community and say 'what do we need to do now?' The problem is that this virus is a slow burn; we need to do things a week or two ahead of time. ... We have to move quickly and aggressively."

On July 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that masks can be optional for vaccinated students and staff, but stated that unvaccinated students and staff should wear masks indoors.

In contrast, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended a universal masking policy for the upcoming school year, suggesting that everyone older than age 2 should wear masks in schools, regardless of vaccination status.

Superintendent of Perrysburg Schools Tom Hosler said he believes each school district should decide precautionary measures based on how their individual communities are faring with the coronavirus.

He said that in the case of his school district, 79 percent of vaccine-eligible people have received the vaccine. He continued by saying that Perrysburg's mask-optional policy for the start of the school year "really reflects where our community is with coronavirus.

"If things change, we'll change too," he said.

Senate Bill 209, introduced by Ohio Sen. Andrew Brenner (R., Powell) last week, could prevent the Ohio Department of Education, as well as state and local boards of education, from mandating students and staff wear masks at Ohio's public schools and colleges.

But local health departments can still establish mask mandates under the bill.

The bill, if it is passed, likely will not affect the start of the upcoming school year as the legislature isn't scheduled to return until September.

School-aged children are part of the third-largest group of Lucas County individuals who have been infected with coronavirus this month: Individuals from newborns to age 19 comprise 18.1 percent of the coronavirus cases, according to the local health department's briefing on Wednesday.