Mid-Prairie board delays decision on mask mandate

Students in the Mid-Prairie school district will be required to wear masks for at least another two weeks.

After a nearly two-hour discussion, which included an hourlong public forum at Monday night's meeting, the school board chose not to take any action on changing the face-covering mandate that was put in place at the start of school.

Board members cited a Monday afternoon email to the district from Washington County Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski stating that the Iowa Department of Public Health would be releasing new guidelines regarding masks and quarantines on Tuesday afternoon.

'I'm OK with pressing pause on this until the guidance comes out tomorrow,” board Vice President Jeremy Pickard said.

The guidelines announced by Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, in a Tuesday morning press conference say individuals in close contact with someone testing positive and both have wearing face coverings properly will not have to quarantine at home for 14 days but are encouraged to self-monitor.

Previously, anyone deemed to have had close contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive was required to quarantine for 14 days, regardless of mask usage.

'This new guidance is not a mandate,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday. 'It's guidance.”

During the public forum at Monday's meeting, a number of people spoke both for and against the continuation of mandatory face coverings in the schools.

Kalona Mayor Mark Robe read a letter signed by members of the Kalona City Council urging the school board to 'please continue to follow public health guidelines.”

A Mid-Prairie High School teacher said, 'I don't want to put my students – your children – at risk.”

Mid-Prairie High School student Gavin Frascht compared wearing masks to wearing a seatbelt and driving the speed limit.

Choir Director Collette McClellen said, 'If we don't have masks, we won't have choir.”

Parent Jared Miller called out what he sees as hypocrisy from those who argue for mandatory face coverings.

'The same people who recommend mandating masks, there's a huge discrepancy from what they say here and do out in the public,” Miller said.

Another parent said, 'Masks aren't doing as much as you say they are.”

Yet another parent said, 'There's less than a 1 percent chance that someone will die, and we're dividing the whole community.”

School board members were divided in their opinions as well.

Board President Marianne Schlabach said that she did not want to have to keep revisiting the issue month after month.

'I'd like to keep it the way it is right now,” she said.

Board member Gabrielle Frederick said, 'I feel like if we're going to meet in person, we've got to have a face covering mandate.”

Board member Mary Allred said that, in her opinion, there is no right answer to the question.

'I'm an optional person, and I have been that from the beginning,” Allred said.

Board member Denise Chittick pointed out that winter is coming, and options for students to social distance will become more limited.

Board member Jeremy Gugel said that that while he personally believes that masks should be optional, the district should follow public health guidelines.

'How can we say we have to follow quarantine rules from public health and not follow other rules?” Gugle asked.

Pickard pointed out that guidelines from the CDC, public health and even the city of Kalona only recommend face coverings.

'I struggle with what that looks like,” Pickard said.

He urged the board to delay the decision until after the new guidelines were announced.

Frederick offered a motion to continue with the mandated face coverings until the end of the semester, but the motion died for a lack of a second.

Superintendent Mark Schneider clarified that if no action were taken, then the current mask mandate would remain in place until the board changes it.

Board members agreed to revisit the issue at its next meeting on Oct. 12.