On March 19, Arizona Doug Ducey lifted the state’s mask mandates for school districts, giving authority to local school districts to decide for themselves whether to continue requiring them for students and staff.
Most districts in the Verde Valley chose to continue requiring masks, largely making the argument that safety is important, and that with just a few weeks left in the 2020-2021 school year it was not worth making the change for just the very end of the semester.
At a special meeting on Wednesday, April 28, the Camp Verde Unified School District governing board voted 3-2 to make the district the first in the area to remove the mask mandate, allowing students to begin showing up to school with faces clear starting on Thursday, April 29. The board also removed requirements for temperature checks, but nevertheless urged students who exhibit symptoms to stay home.
“Masks will be optional,” Superintendent Danny Howe said. “If staff are still uncomfortable, they could certainly wear a mask… It’s just allowing staff and allowing parents to choose .”
Board members Thomasene Cardona and Helen Freeman voted in opposition, expressing concern about the continued danger of COVID-19 and wanting to continue following guidelines from public health experts.
“The best way to control the spread of the disease was by using masks,” Freeman said, referencing guidances from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Arizona Department of Health Services. “I’m a little bit concerned about making decisions based on personal opinions.”
“I believe that as a board we have a responsibility to ensure that the health and safety of our kids, our students, is of high priority,” Cardona said. “There still seems to be a number of cases, and it changes every day, every week. I believe that it’s important for us to err on the side of caution and put our students’ safety first.”
While advocates of lifting the mask requirement pointed to the widespread availability of vaccinations, opponents countered that the vaccination rate among teachers and staff is still relatively low. According to Superintendent Howe, just 74 of the school districts 220 staff members have been vaccinated, representing just 34% of the district.
Three board members — Tim Roth, Carol German, and Bob Simbric — voted in favor of ending the mandate, mostly making arguments related to the decline of COVID-19 cases in the area, and the increasing spread of vaccinations.
“I personally just think it’s time to allow parents to make the decision of whether or not they want their children to wear masks,” Simbric said.
“I know we have a lot of parents who are fed up with mask wearing, especially these younger kids,” German said. “My feeling is that at this point, I think that with all the vaccinations…I think we could do away with the mask wearing at least for the end of the year. Let them have a normal end of the year. It’s not mandated, but it’s there if students want to wear a mask.”
