Pueblo D60 makes masks optional in schools with adoption of new mitigation plan
Face masks are no longer required in Pueblo School District 60 schools and facilities following the adoption of a new COVID-19 mitigation plan.
The decision was made during Tuesday night's Pueblo D60 Board of Education meeting and took effect Wednesday. Masks are still "strongly recommended" but not required under the district's new mitigation plan, which transitions schools to a "routine disease control model."
"D60 will focus more on response to clusters of cases, outbreaks and evidence of ongoing transmission in schools, and less on individual case investigation, contact tracing, and quarantining of staff and students following school exposures," the mitigation plan says.
More: What about the medically fragile? Pueblo health director concerned by D70 COVID-19 plan.
The district serves some 16,000 students in Pueblo.
Vaccination continues to be encouraged for staff and students, and the district will offer on-site vaccination clinics for as long as funding is available, the mitigation plan says.
Students and staff who are ill "may be sent home as they would for any communicable disease such as the flu or the common cold," according to the plan.
Cases and outbreaks will continue to be reported to the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment.
Individual case investigations, contact tracing and school-related quarantines will be discontinued unless the district detects new clusters or outbreaks.
Masks will continue to be required on school buses, in line with a federal law requiring that face coverings be worn when using public transportation.
Bullying Awareness Day at PSAS: Pueblo School for Arts and Sciences network hosts 'Bullying Awareness Day'
The resolution to adopt a new COVID-19 mitigation plan was passed with a 5-1 vote.
Board of Education member Matthew Cranswick was the only member to vote against the mask-optional plan.
"It has been really tough for teachers," he said. "It has been really tough for students and their families, but again it's about doing what's right based on what we know about the science of it and why we have drawn certain lines in the sand."
Superintendent Charlotte Macaluso did not vote, but expressed support for the new COVID-19 mitigation plan — citing concern for student mental health.
"There is a difference when our students have been masked for two years," Macaluso said. "There's a difference in connection, there's a difference in the way that we teach. There's a difference in the way that we interact."
Changes to the COVID-19 mitigation plan can be made by the Board of Education at any time.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo D60 ends mask mandate in schools, adopts new mitigation plan
