Newcomers to Wichita school board call a special meeting to ‘remove the mask mandate’
Three newcomers on the Wichita school board will again try to end the district’s mask mandate as the area’s worst surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations begin to slow.
Diane Albert, Kathy Bond and Hazel Stabler tried to drop masks for students and staff in district buildings earlier this month but lost in a 4-3 vote.
On Monday, the three Republican newcomers requested a special meeting for Thursday to “remove the mask mandate, give parents the authority to make health decisions for their children, and make masking optional,” according to a document provided Tuesday by a district spokesperson.
Additionally, there will be discussion to change “covid protocols to match other illnesses,” the document says.
The meeting will be noon at the Alvin E. Morris Administrative Center Media Room. Special meetings can be called by the board president or by three members of the board, according to board policy.
The school district experienced a large spike in COVID cases and quarantines in January among students and staff. Some schools had to close because of a shortage of staff. The number of weekly positive cases among staff didn’t surpass 56 from the start of the school year through December. January saw two reports in the 200s and two in the 300s before dropping down to 113 in a report that included the end of the month. It was down to 53 in the next report, which was the latest available. Student cases also saw a spike in January.
The numbers have started to fall in the last few weeks.
Sedgwick County also reported a record number of hospitalizations, cases and percent of tests coming back positive in January as the omicron variant led to spikes across the country. Those numbers have also started to drop.
In January, the district suspended contact tracing, dropped its isolation period from 10 to five days and ended its “test to stay” protocol that required negative COVID tests for unvaccinated people who had high-risk close contacts before they returned to work or school.
Wichita schools have operated under an indoor mask mandate since late August, when the school board unanimously approved the mandate for all people age 3 and older.
Albert, Bond and Stabler won seats on the school board in November as a slate of candidates recruited by the local Republican Party in part to mobilize voters against mask mandates and mandatory vaccination.
Board President Stan Reeser canceled the board’s first meeting of the year after the three newcomers refused to comply with the district’s policy that requires face coverings inside school buildings. Later, when the board did meet, Albert asked to reconsider the district’s COVID policies.
Reeser voted no against dropping the mask mandate earlier this month, saying that to do so before winter ended would lead to schools having to close.
“If we remove the masks, as this motion would do, we will be closing schools,” Reeser said. “And we will be closing classes, and you will see test scores go down. You’ve got to give these kids a fighting chance.”
Contributing: Chance Swaim with The Eagle
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 12:26 PM.