Watsonville Schools Will Drop Mask Mandates

WATSONVILLE, CA — Masks will become voluntary in Pajaro Valley schools after March 11, according to a letter signed by the superintendents of 12 Santa Cruz County school districts. After that date, masks will remain “highly recommended” for all students and staff, regardless of vaccination status.

The announcement came Monday following a news release from California Gov. Gavin Newsom that gave school districts the option to make masks voluntary after March 11.

The superintendents said that the daily COVID-19 positivity rate in county schools is at one percent, and that masking and social distancing have been “key to our success in keeping schools open and responding quickly and effectively to surges of positive COVID19 cases.”

The superintendents also said that they will continue to work with local public health officials to monitor metrics like positivity rates, in-school transmission, school outbreaks, hospitalization capacity, and other indicators to determine if masking or other strategies need to be re-established. The superintendents said they would also continue “robust” testing efforts.

“We recognize that every household has had a different experience through the pandemic,” the letter continued. “Everyone has a different threshold of comfort, different health concerns, and a different weight of worry. Once masking is optional in our schools, we ask that you be patient with your neighbors and respectful of their masking decisions as we continue to seek the safe management of this situation together.”

Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez told families in an email that the district still strongly recommends masks as the “best protection for our immunocompromised educational community members.”

In response to the governor's announcement, some districts, like Walnut Creek, said that they would drop their mask mandates the following Monday, March 14. Others, like San Francisco, opted to keep the mandate. Other districts in Alameda County, like Dublin Unified School Districtand Livermore Joint Unified School District, said that they would await further guidance from the county health department.