Ellerbe has spoken often in favor of wearing masks and getting vaccinated, but said he is not in favor of mandates.
City Manager Doug Elliott provided an update Feb. 15 from McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital that things are getting back to normal.
“Things are looking very, very good,” Elliott said.
Several people spoke against the mask requirement earlier in the meeting including one parent who said his first grader “has never had a normal day in school,” while his son stood next to him with a poster he had drawn saying, “No Mask.”
At the school board meeting two nights later, Superintendent Ed Theroux started the discussion with comments similar to Elliott’s.
“We have had two very good weeks with low COVID-19 positive tests,” Theroux said. “If it continues within the next week, look for an announcement March 1 or 2.”
Theroux had been designated by the board to make decisions about school closings and use of masks during the pandemic so the district could react more quickly to a changing situation but a new discussion was brought up at the end of the meeting when Board Member David Bothast proposed revoking that decision.
He made a motion to that effect which drew a second from Kathleen Knight-Abowitz who wanted to have the issue discussed. In the end the proposal failed on a 1-4 vote, with Bothast the only one in favor of it.
“This is a decision that should not be made by educators but health professionals,” he said. “This is a business and Dr. Theroux is the CEO. (The decision) should be done by the board in an emergency meeting. I have seen (this issue) split families and split communities. It’s not something we need to burden Dr. Theroux with.”
He said it is time to shift the responsibility back to the board because getting out in the community, you see people with and without masks.
“At the time, it was an important mandate because we knew very little. Now, the numbers are going down. I believe a mandate like this is should be decided by the executive board,” Bothast said.
Board Vice President Rebecca Howard said she voted for the initial decision because she trusted Theroux to keep the safety of all in mind.
Theroux said it has not been easy working through an issue which has divided the community and said he truly believes the teachers want what is best for the kids.
He added the reminder that regardless of what happens with a local mask mandate in the schools, the federal mandate for masks on public transportation, including school buses, will remain in effect at least until mid-March.
Board President Patrick Meade asked Theroux if the board taking back the decision would help him, to which he replied, “I don’t know.”
Meade continued by saying he had recently dealt with trying to schedule a work session dealing with all the members’ schedules and said he was skeptical about being able to set up an emergency meeting if one were needed for such a decision, although he did express concern for the superintendent dealing with these issues and so many other responsibilities in regard to education.
“I prefer the community hating on me not hating on you,” he told Theroux.
Knight-Abowitz suggested a discussion during the summer to deal with a policy regarding any future pandemic-type situations, suggesting they “take a step back and think about it in a more systemic way.”
In the end, Bothast was the only board member to vote for the motion.
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