Rumors Of Student Exodus Over Mask Mandate Prompts MGSD Response

MOORESVILLE, NC — Mooresville Graded School District is countering online claims that hundreds of students have withdrawn from Mooresville schools in protest to in-school mask requirements, saying the rumors circulating on social media are false.

"It has come to our attention that there is inaccurate information on social media regarding the number of students who have withdrawn from Mooresville Graded School District due to our mask requirement," the school district said in a statement posted on its social media feed Thursday morning. "The inaccurate information includes that 'over 300 students have withdrawn from MGSD to be homeschooled or to attend Iredell Statesville Schools' due to our mask requirements."

The number of student withdrawals is much smaller, according to the school district.

"As of August 24, we have had 49 students withdraw/transfer from our district," MGSD said, adding that 25 of those student withdrawals were due to an out-of-state or out-of-county move, or to attend a school that also has a mandatory mask requirement.

"While we cannot know exactly how many of the 49 students were withdrawn due to the mask requirement, we can deduce that it was no more than approximately 24 students, or less than 1/2 percent of our student enrollment," MGSD said.

The online rumors emerge as the school district continues to confront the impact of COVID-19 in its nine school facilities. As of Thursday, Aug. 26, there were at least 40 active cases reported, and 175 students in quarantine.

School district leaders initially eschewed a mask mandate in late July, and voted to make masking optional for students and teachers when classes resumed Aug. 2, saying that enforcing a mandatory mask policy would be difficult to enforce and disruptive to learning. At the time, the decision countered guidance issued by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling for mandatory face coverings in all K-12 schools.

Four days into the new school year, however, the school district abruptly called for immediate universal masking in all school district buildings beginning Aug. 6 due to COVID spread among the district's schools.

MGSD has received complaints about the mask mandate from a group of individuals, including individuals who are not served by the school district, Tanae McLean told Patch. "We've also had a lot of parents reach out in support," she said.

Universal masking has been pivotal in bringing down the numbers of students required to quarantine in the circumstances where there has been a positive case reported in the school, she said.

"Our job is to try to keep kids in school, and the best way to do that is by requiring masks," McLean said.

Here is a breakdown of individuals in quarantine per school as of Aug. 26, according to MGSD COVID-19 Dashboard:

• Woods Campus — 1
• South Elementary — 21
• Rocky River Elementary — 20
• Park View Elementary — 14
• Mooresville Middle — 17
• Mooresville Intermediate — 16
• Mooresville High — 61
• East Mooresville Intermediate — 25

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