The Lingleville ISD School Board voted unanimously to lift the mask mandate for the remainder of the school year during its regular meeting Thursday night.
Chairs lined the entrance side of the school library and were filled with parents and community members who wanted to hear the discussion on the topic of masks.
Five community members signed up to speak, all of them requesting for the removal of the mask mandate, saying that students and staff who wanted to continue to wear masks could do so.
Ben Pinkston and Mike Hicks spoke of the effects it has had on students with Pinkston highlighting the communication barrier they create and Hicks saying it has made good students dislike school.
Richard Boeve said the mask mandate and guidelines ‘severely limited’ the activities of the school in the past year including the modified graduation held on the football field and lack of concessions during sporting events. He requested a return to normal graduation ceremonies this year.
Rudy Mulder questioned the decisions in place for dealing with COVID, noting that sports continued when the school was closed for quarantine and found it impractical to immediately leave work and pick up students when they had been exposed.
The comments were heard by the full board with Sonya Koke and Tyler Howle present via teleconference.
The board was informed that they had received surveys from 121 of the 140 families of students in the district as well as 41 staff members including all classroom teachers. Of those results, four teachers were uncomfortable coming to class if the mandate was lifted.
Board members were also informed that the last active case in the district was in January and there was never a reported case of COVID being spread on campus.
When asked about other guidelines, LISD Superintendent Curt Haley offered that they could be left in place and stepped back over time.
“We could move back inch-by-inch to a more normal school year,” Haley said. “What I want is to start back in August like we never had to worry about this mess.”
Koke pointed out that the school is the only place that students are wearing masks now with athletes unmasked during sporting events while Monty Williams offering that the prospect of wearing a face mask for 7 to 8 hours straight seems “miserable.”
The board voted unanimously to lift the mandate which was met with applause from the audience, many of whom immediately removed their mask.
With the removal of the mandate, Jay Procter offered that students should be made to feel comfortable to continue wearing masks if they want and bullying those who don’t shouldn’t be allowed.
Haley reported that bullying of any type is not tolerated on campus, and it would be treated just the same.
The board was also briefed on the construction of the cafeteria/classroom building, which is set to be complete some time in May following a few weather and COVIDrelated delays throughout the year. It was reported that walls were being painted and ceramic tiles were being laid that night and the board was invited to take a tour of the new building soon.
The board also approved two votes to deal with the school closing for winter storms in February: approving waivers for weather related school closures and approving a resolution for wage payments during emergency school closings for non-salary employees.
The board also unanimously approved the student secondary accident insurance as they have every year since the school started offering football again. It was noted that the policy was switched to Liberty Mutual and that the $5,300 cost covers all of the students in the district.