Abington School District Approves Plan With Universal Masking

ABINGTON, PA — The Abington School District Tuesday became yet another Montgomery County district that has adopted a health and safety plan containing a provision requiring universal mask wearing by students regardless of vaccination status.

The seven-member school board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt the 2021-22 health and safety plan, which says that all students must be masked while inside school buildings.

The vote was recorded and posted online along with the meeting agenda and a copy of the health and safety plan.

The masking issue is a hot button topic in Southeastern Pennsylvania, as districts in Montgomery County in particular have been moving to adopt universal masking as COVID-19 infection rates rise due to variants within the virus.

Montgomery County health officials are recommending that all students, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks while indoors to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.

CBS 3 Philly has video of portions of the school board meeting, showing parents both speaking for, and against, the mask mandate.

Abington School Board member Daniel Kaye spoke with Patch about his decision to vote for the health and safety plan, and why he feels schools boards across the county, state and country have been put in a difficult position, given that the topic of masks brings about passionate arguments from both sides of the debate.

“As a school board director, I feel we have been put in a terrible position. We are trying to figure out things we never contemplated before, trying to navigate ever-changing guidance,” Kaye told Patch. “Our only goal is keeping children safe. School boards all across the country have to figure out what’s the best thing to do. I believe we should listen to the experts, the scientists, the organizations that know what can work best.”

Kaye said he is happy that the district can at least return to in-person learning, after last year's pandemic caused widespread virtual instruction at districts the country over. And he is happy that people are becoming vaccinated against COVID-19.

But at the same time, the rise of the delta variant of the virus has been a game changer for society, even for those who have been inoculated.

“Being vaccinated doesn’t make you virus proof. And as someone who has lost people to COVID, I need to know I’ve done as much as I can to help others not go through the pain I have,” Kaye said. “The new variant seems to be transmitted easily, and how it affects vaccinated people is worrying, too. There are too many unknowns and there have been way too many deaths. Right now, for me, the safety of children and of our district population is the most important thing.”

Kaye said he understands people may be upset about universal masking in Abington schools, but in the end, he felt he needed to do what's best to protect children in the district.

“I think the plan is the best one available in a world full of difficult decisions. Last year was awful for pretty much everyone on the planet, but the crisis is not over,” he said. “Thankfully we know a lot more, which is why I’m thrilled that we can try to go back to in-person learning five days a week. But there is still a massive unvaccinated population of children and justifiably worried parents.”

Still, there is no doubt that the masking issue has become a hot button topic and has caused divisiveness in local communities.

Some parents strongly favor universal masking, while others decry it as local government overreach.

A Hatboro-Horsham parent told that district's school board in July that her child became sick from constantly wearing a mask, as opposed to not wearing one.

And this week, the Pottstown Mercury reported that a meeting of the North Penn School Board had to be adjourned abruptly when the issue caused a shouting match to break out among the audience.