Gosnell mask mandate starts on Monday

Saturday, August 28, 2021

With a 5-2 vote Thursday night, the Gosnell School Board approved a mask mandate for all K-12 students, staff, and all adults on school campus, with a provision the policy could be revisited monthly as the Covid numbers change.

As for extracurricular activities, masks will only be mandated at large indoor events where social distancing is not possible. Masks will not be required at outdoor activities. The policy goes into effect on Monday.

Students and staff may remove masks when eating and drinking and when appropriate social distancing measures are in place (six feet or more).

Students and employees may be exempted from wearing masks if they have a documented medical condition.

Students may remove masks on a case-by-case basis for instructional needs such as recess, physical education, extracurricular, and athletic activities.

Gosnell superintendent Bonard Mace said the Arkansas Activities Association told him the policy for athletic events will be up to the individual districts, and he will be working on a plan of action for basketball season.

Mace said he understands some of the younger ones will struggle wearing masks, but the teachers will use good judgment.

As of Wednesday, 97 Gosnell students are in quarantine — six are positive — while three staff members are out, with one having Covid. The district has an enrollment of 1,134 students, meaning 8.5 percent of the student population is out because of Covid. Board member Lee Ketchum pointed out had there been a mask mandate, 58 of the 97 would not have had to quarantine under the current CDC guidelines.

Gosnell started the school year with 18 in quarantine, then the number increased to the 30s, the 60s, and now nearly 100 are out.

“Today was like a bomb fell on us,” Gosnell assistant superintendent Len Whitehead told the board. “It was chaotic; it was not very good. Up until this week, it’s really been a lot smoother than I anticipated. I thought it would hit earlier. I thought it would come fast and it really didn’t. But today is what I thought we would see last week. What’s going to happen from here, I don’t know. Last year we would see these waves. We’d see a huge wave, and then we’d see a calm.”

The Delta variant’s incubation period is shorter than last year’s variant, he said.

Board president Donnie Wright said the case numbers continue to rise, leading to the discussion of a mask mandate, which he supports. Board member John Weiss asked about exempting K-2, as last year’s policy did.

Whitehead responded this year there have been 22 first and second graders quarantined and more than that in pre-K. Seven first graders — six in the same classroom — have tested positive.

“Last year we didn’t see hardly any activity at the lower grades,” Whitehead said. “Most of it was in high school to be honest with you. Some in the junior high, very little in the elementary. They didn’t test very much last year. But they didn’t have symptoms and it really wasn’t affecting young people, the variant. This one seems to affect younger people more.”

Board member Doug Johnson added, “I dislike masks; I don’t like wearing them. I hate to ask our students to wear them, but I dislike virtual learning a whole lot more. I feel like anything we can do to keep our kids in school, we need to do it. Our kids need that, and our community needs that. I absolutely hate to ask anyone to wear a mask, but I think we are going to go to virtual learning if we don’t do that. That’s the worst of the two, in my opinion, by far.”

Board member Danny Quearry, who along with board member Gary Payne voted against the mask mandate, said he believes Covid will be a yearly challenge and suggested looking into hiring more teachers and adding more classrooms to spread out children.

Mace noted the district has taken pride in “tightening all aspects of this thing called education and business” but he agreed they need to find better ways to spread out students.

Mace said some rooms being used by different services can be converted into classrooms.

“I think if we got creative, we could find some space,” Mace said. “This campus secured a whole lot of children when the base was here and that number is not here right now, so I need to seriously look at what we are doing with the space that we have.”

Responding to a question about masks hindering learning in kindergarten, Gosnell Elementary principal Tiffany Kennemore said learning to read is auditory; students need to be able to hear their teacher.

She said last year, she measured between desks to make sure young children are six feet apart, which allowed students to take off their masks at their desk, and they would put them back on when they moved.

Gosnell curriculum director Anita McKinney added the district is trying to spread out the younger children as much as possible to make sure only one or two would have to be quarantined. She agreed it will be a struggle for the K-2 teachers, especially kindergarten, to make sure masks are worn properly and to teach with face coverings.

“I understand what you are saying, when the teacher is teaching, they need to see the teacher’s mouth move, and we have shields that teachers wear where they can still see their face,” McKinney said.

Ketchum said he doesn’t want little ones to have to wear masks all day long, and Kennemore said they could adjust to allow for social distancing.

Board members suggested giving students lanyards, which are available, to keep the masks off the floor.

Board member Greg McGuirt said he is concerned about students wearing the same masks every day, which could be a health hazard. Mace responded the district has plenty of masks and can provide them to students when needed.

Before the vote, Quearry said a survey showed a majority of employees do not want a mask mandate, and Whitehad said some staff members do not realize you don’t have to quarantine if you wear a mask, unlike last year.

In other news, the board approved the following:

— The statement of assurance;

— A contract disclosure that allows the district to do business with Me and My Sister Merle Norman, which is owned, in part, by GHS basketball coach David Hixson’s wife Lori. The golf team will be purchasing shirts from the business;

— A resolution allowing board members to volunteer with district activities. The board members included Quearry, Johnson, Ketchum, Weiss, and McGuirt. All five stepped out of the room when the board voted on their individual resolutions.

— The purchase of nine 2023 Blue Bird 77-passenger buses at a cost of $937,044, using ESSER (Covid relief) funds. With the purchase, more than half of the fleet will be new buses.

— The purchase of 96 smartboards at a cost of $432,659, using ESSER funds;

— The hiring of Darrin Lloyd as bus driver.