Mask Mandate Could Be Adopted At Stillwater High School

STILLWATER, MN — Stillwater Area Public Schools officials are set to meet Thursday to consider a masking requirement for students and staff at the district’s high school, after a huge spike in coronavirus cases to start 2022.

About 5 percent of Stillwater Area High School students and employees reported coronavirus cases since the end of winter break, prompting administration officials to ask the district’s board to extend a masking requirement already in place for elementary and middle schools.

Officials reported 102 new cases at Stillwater Area High School and the St. Croix Valley Area Learning Center from Jan. 7-13, according to the district’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

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Last week’s total represents more than a quarter of all cases recorded at those facilities since the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Current policies mean staff are expected to wear masks in the high school; however, there is no mask mandate for students, just a “strong recommendation” from officials.

The district’s board will consider high school administrators’ request to mandate masks at its meeting Thursday, with masks to be required for at least two weeks if it is approved. The mask mandate would take effect Friday.

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“With a shortage of substitutes and an increase in staff absences across the district, the current COVID surge is making it more challenging to meet the needs of our students,” district officials said. “Staff members at all levels are feeling the strain.”

Officials are urging students and staff to limit the spread of the coronavirus and help keep Stillwater Area High School open.

Students and staff should stay home if they are feeling sick and to get tested if they experience any symptoms of COVID-19. Free tests are available at the high school’s health office, and officials are encouraging people to take advantage of rapid testing at the Stillwater National Guard Armory.

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Officials are also urging students and staff to avoid nonessential gatherings and to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

This article originally appeared on the Stillwater Patch