Aug 10

Aug 10 Three week mask mandate for Lenoir County Public Schools

The Lenoir County School Board met on Monday, August 9, 2021. One of the items on the agenda up for discussion was the COVID-19 Response Plan for Opening the 2021-22 School Year. The discussion of mask-wearing was what most in attendance wanted to discuss.

Jamie Moore, a third-grade teacher in La Grange urged the board to vote in favor of allowing parents the right to decide what works best for their children.

A parent of three, Mike Houston said, “As a parent, we’ve had the decisions to make medical choices from day one. I don’t feel like the government, as a school system, has that right to make that decision for us.”

“It is my recommendation that the school system follows the toolkit provided by the state,” said Lenoir County Health Department Director Pam Brown.

The Toolkit says schools with students in kindergarten through eighth grade should require all children and staff to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Schools with students in 9th through 12th grades should ensure that anyone who isn’t fully vaccinated, including students, wear a mask indoors.

Board member W.D. Anderson made a motion that mask-wearing be required for all Lenoir County Public Schools for the first three weeks. The motion was seconded by Merwyn Smith, who attended the meeting virtually. The mandate will be reviewed at the next board meeting.

Anderson’s original motion was for nine weeks with the option to review at monthly board meetings, but the attorney pointed out a conflict within the motion and requested a motion to amend it. The vote to approve the three-week mask mandate was five for the motion and two against, with Billy Davis and Keith King dissenting.

Lenoir County Public Schools officials had recommended the COVID-19 Response Plan for Opening the 2021-22 School Year which included a more traditional start to the school year, full capacity, face-to-face instruction, five day week for all, full-day schedule.