D158 undecided on whether masks will be optional for students in the upcoming school year
HUNTLEY – On July 12, Huntley Community School District 158 (D158) superintendent Scott Rowe, sent an update regarding the most recent changes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) adopted in terms of mask requirements for fully vaccinated students.
While the updated CDC and IDPH guidelines still recommend for the masking of individuals under 12 years of age who are not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, both agencies state that schools now have the option to remove any of the COVID-19 prevention strategies based on local conditions.
In his statement to D158 families, Rowe stated that D158 is still awaiting further guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) regarding “safety and school procedures such as transportation, lunch hours, common spaces and more.”
Many families found Rowe’s statement to be frustrating. Adding further to the outcry, was the agenda for the July 15 Board of Education (BOE) meeting not mentioning any discussions of making the masking of students optional, seeing as multiple surrounding school districts, such as McHenry School District 15, having already decided to not continue to require masks for students.
During the July 15 meeting, the BOE meeting room filled beyond capacity with families of children attending D158, eager to voice their displeasure with the district’s lack of action towards the masking requirements.
Conley Elementary School student Trevor Murray, who will be in fifth grade, presented to BOE members five reasons he believed masks should be made optional.
“I can’t breathe well with one on. I get really hot in them. By the end of the school day, I have a headache. P.E. (Physical Education) is really hard to participate with a mask on because it is really hot and I get really dizzy. I like to see my friend’s and teacher’s faces,” Murray said. “What I can’t figure out is why you are making a health decision for me. I have parents for that.”
Other comments included parents speaking of their decision of not wanting to vaccinate their children.
“I do not want my children to receive the COVID vaccine. Our family had COVID last December. In June of this year, the Cleveland Clinic released the results of a study. 52,000 participants who caught COVID, not one single re-infection occurred after the first. This concluded that vaccinating the previously infected has no additional benefits whatsoever and this push for COVID vaccination of children is ridiculous,” said meeting attendee Jill Cataldo.
BOE president Tony Quagliano, made it a point to remind speakers during the public comments portion of the meeting, that only three minutes of talking time was allowed per participant to allocate enough time for the rest of the regular BOE meeting.
However, individuals who had previously submitted their comments via email were upset to find out that the BOE would not be reading any of those comments out loud during the meeting.
Quagliano apologized for the oversight, stating that the July 15 agenda had an error in which it was suggested that public comments could still be made through email. Quagliano said that the BOE has returned to the normal procedures of having public comments made in person during the meeting and no longer being accepted through email.
D158 officials responded to the backlash by explaining that those whose messages were not read out loud during the July 15 meeting, were emailed individually with an opportunity to have their comment posted on the district’s website. Only one email comment has been posted as of Monday, July 19.
Rowe went on to elaborate further on the statement he made on July 12.
“We did receive the CDC and IDPH updated guidance on Friday (July 9) afternoon. Since then, we’ve been digesting and analyzing and determining what’s [best] for us. What options we have,” Rowe said.
“I want to be sure that we’re clear that no decision has been made regarding masks during school…Segregation of students based on vaccinated and non-vaccinated, that is not a decision that has been made…As soon as that decision is made, we will be discussing that in a public forum. We will communicate that information with our families as soon as possible.”
Rowe went further to explain that the district does not want to make decisions that will have to be changed continuously and would prefer to take their time, though he said D158 would be welcoming feedback once that decision is discussed at a future public forum.
Only the first 20 individuals were allowed to speak during the public comments section of the meeting, with the rest of the comments having been heard at the end.
As an added point of discussion, the BOE went back to determine how to distribute the district’s surplus funds.
Mark Altmayer, chief financial officer for D158, told BOE members that if the board approves of abating $700,000 in next year’s levy, they would have to come back at a later date with a new resolution for the abatement to take place. Meaning that discussions would have to wait until December or January at the latest when the levy process has been completed.
The BOE was able to vote on approving a 50% reduction in registration fees for D158 students for the 2021-2022 school year. This would not affect the early pay option discount.
The motion for the one-time 50% reduction in registration fees passed unanimously.
Since the next BOE meeting isn’t scheduled to take place until August, parents of D158 students will have to continue to wait to hear whether masks will be optional or not at D158.
