The Atlantic Community School District Board of Education met Wednesday afternoon in the Middle School Library, and voted unanimously to extend the current district-imposed mandate with regard to face masks/facial coverings, until Dec. 10th. The previous mandate was set to expire on the 23rd of November. (The recorded meeting can be viewed HERE)

The Board will meet again on Dec. 9th to revisit the policy, which the Board agreed has reduced the need to quarantine students and staff, and cut down on the number of active cases of COVID-19. Superintendent Steve Barber said the first week the district was affected by a positive case was the week of September 24th. The was the high water mark for cases in the district.

From Oct. 1st through the 22nd, Barber said the cases ranged from 3-to 4 cases. Since then, it’s been from 1-to 4 each week on a Thursday. “We ranged from quarantined staff pre-face mandate (requirement), from 3-to 11, and quarantined students from 35-to 93. Since then,” he said, “our staff has ranged from 2-to 7 quarantined , and from 24-to 61 students quarantined. On the 29th of October, our county (Positivity rate) was 22.1%, and as of this (Wednesday) morning,” he said, “It was 18.8%.”

Barber said also, “There’s been cases where we’ve had a positive case, where masks have prevented quarantine of some students or staff for that matter, so that has happened.” The problem area is at Washington Elementary School where masks must be worn the most out of all district buildings, because there is no room to social distance like there is with other facilities. The Board was unable to come to a consensus on how to relax or improve upon those conditions. Face coverings are still required in all buildings where social distancing is not possible.

In discussion over the matter, Board member Josh McLaren expressed gratitude to teachers, staff and administrators for their efforts to contain and control the spread of the virus, because “What we’re doing is working” inside the schools. McLaren said he’s not in support of a mask mandate to go any further but “I do still hold the position that [The governor] hasn’t changed anything with regard to quarantine and those types of things. My belief is that I think we have to keep it going through this semester just because strictly based upon the quarantine.”

Board President Jenny Williams said she has a hard time wearing a mask and doesn’t have to wear one at work. She said she’s been opposed to a mask mandate from the beginning, but “Had to compromise because of all of the communication the Board was getting [from the public] via text, e-mail, walk-ins.” She said extending the mask mandate was “not an easy decision.”

Superintendent Barber said administrators will continue to try and find a better solution for the Washington School, in the interim between now and Dec. 9th.