Point Boro Board Of Ed Asks Governor To Reevaluate Mask Mandate

POINT PLEASANT, NJ – The Point Pleasant Borough Board of Education recently sent a let to Gov. Phil Murphy’s office, asking for him to consider his recent mandate requires all students to be masked when coming back to school in the next few days.

In the letter, which was read into the record at last Tuesday’s meeting, the Board of Education laid out the steps that they have taken over the past year to ensure the safety of all students, staff, and faculty in the district and that the districts should have the final say.

“Our district remains committed to complying with current mandates; however, we believe that the decision for masking should be left to local school districts in collaboration with community stakeholders,” the letter said.

“Our district has made the necessary investments in PPE, infrastructure improvements, and staff development to ensure our schools are ready to operate on a full-day schedule, five days a week. Additionally, the district has made available information regarding vaccination to our school communities in an effort to assist those who choose to be vaccinated.”

The letter then asked Gov. Murphy to “reevaluate” the executive order with the following in mind: parental consent, remote learning options, and the option to remove masks where there’s six feet of social distance available.

“At the June Point Pleasant Borough Board of Education meeting, the Board voted unanimously to send a letter to the Governor asking for masks to be optional in the 2021-2022 school year. Shortly after, guidance from the Governor’s Office and the NJDOE was released, which encouraged the use of face masks by students and staff but did not require the use of face masks. With that guidance, it did not seem necessary to write a letter requesting face masks to be optional,” Point Pleasant Superintendent of Schools Adam Angelozzi said to Patch on Friday.

“With Executive Order 251 in place, the Board decided at the August meeting to move forward with writing a letter asking the Governor to reevaluate Executive Order 251 pertaining to the mandatory use of face masks by students in the indoor portion of the school district premises.”