District will continue to require face coverings after state court strikes down third mandate

by Joseph Back

The day will come when masks are no longer required in the Stanley-Boyd

School District—but that day, is not today.

“I don’t think anyone likes wearing

a mask, however, since we have been superintendent Jeff Koenig said, also wearing them all school year, people saying the pandemic wasn’t over and are used to wearing them,” S-B district „ – See MASK POLICY, Page 12

photo. MASK POLICY

FROM PAGE 1

that various government agencies were still recommending the use of face coverings, even as the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a mandate by Governor Tony Evers on March 31, the third such attempt by the Governor and Plymouth, Wisconsin native to institute what he sees as a health measure.

Thorp Schools, meanwhile, has largely struck its face covering requirement from the school day as of April 5, the two exceptions being that of requiring face coverings in hallways as well as instances where greater than 10 per-cent of the student body is quarantined. The Owen-Withee and Cadott Community school districts, meanwhile, were scheduled to discuss the local face covering policy at their respective school board meetings, both on Monday, April 12.

In regard to Gilman Schools policy on the other hand, the Western Taylor County school district set a mask pol-icy in February “independent of state or local government” developments and subject to district review, meaning that Gilman district residents might have to wait out the current school year at least before ‘no masks’ can come into effect.

More locally at Stanley-Boyd, a similar course is being followed to that of Gilman up north. As to the local district keeping its policy, Stanley-Boyd Superintendent Jeff Koenig had more to say via email.

“We plan to continue to require face coverings until June 1,” he said of Stanley-Boyd’s face covering policy. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Wisconsin Department of Health Services, as well as Chippewa County Public Health continue to recommend mask use in schools.”

With a Stanley-Boyd District reopening plan approved at the July school board meeting, Koenig noted in part that, “In that plan, we stated Person Protective Equipment (including masks) will be required,” with the district likewise maintaining its policy of face coverings after the State Supreme Court previously struck down two other mask man-dates. So what’s the face covering rationale, if at all?

“As a school district, we have made it through the entire school year without having to close our buildings,” Koenig said. “Our goal is to stay open these final seven weeks while staying committed to the health and safety of our community. The pandemic is not over and we will continue to provide a positive learning environment while being as safe as practicable,” he said.

With a four-day schedule for all students matched to intervention and enrichment work happening on Fridays, Koenig said that the current schedule was working and that the district wanted to continue doing what worked.

“We want to continue (the schedule) as we finish the year. Many students are getting specific targeted instruction to help them improve on Fridays,” he said. With the school year fast closing out at Stanley-Boyd, Koenig also said that the Stanley-Boyd district was working on many events for which mask use and safety precautions were key to moving forward.

“We are working on having Graduation, Prom, concerts, as well as many other events for all students in these final weeks of the school year,” he said. “Mask use and other safety precautions are key to helping make all of these events possible for everyone.”