Central Bucks Students Can Go Maskless For Rest Of School Year

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Following pressure from parents who have grown weary of the mask mandate for their children, the Central Bucks School Board voted 4-3 on Wednesday to make face masks optional for the last week of the school year.

Starting Monday, students can ditch the masks if they so choose.

Board President Dana Hunter and board members Sharon Collopy, Daniel Ring, and Leigh Vlasblom voted in favor of making masks optional, while board members Tracy Suits, Jodi Schwartz and Karen Smith voted against the measure. Vice President John Gamble left the meeting early to celebrate his birthday and board member Lorraine Sciuto-Ballasy was absent.

The special meeting was scheduled just days after the board voted in new leadership, ousting Suits as president and Smith as vice president. School board members had intended for the meeting to run only one hour, but more than 50 people signed up for public comment, forcing the meeting to be extended for another two hours.

Prior to hearing two hours of public comments, the board heard from Bucks County Public Health Director David Damsker, who said that the mask mandate was no longer needed due to sharply declining levels of COVID-19 cases in Bucks County.

"Given the epidemiology of where we are today, I think masks should be optional going forward," Damsker said. "I wouldn't have said that to you in April."

Related: Bucks Co. COVID Cases Fall To Lowest Levels Since August

Damsker added that the risk of students or staff contracting COVID-19 in schools is "exceedingly low," and that the risk of a child becoming hospitalized from COVID-19 is even lower, even for students with weakened immune systems.

These remarks and others from Damsker were met with cheers and applause from parents who have grown weary of the mask mandate. More than 600 parents signed a petition, which was delivered to the board on Wednesday, calling for the district to make wearing masks optional.

Cassandra Brown, of Plumstead Township, said she pulled her child from the district in the fall and enrolled them in a private school where masks are not required.

"We believe in the immune system," Brown said. "Mask wearing is harmful and abusive."

While many other parents spoke in favor of making masks optional, others cautioned against it, noting that the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics both continue to recommend that unvaccinated children wear masks while in school.

Susan Lipson, a family physician in Ottsville, had urged the board to keep the mask mandate in place, if only for the parents who are uncomfortable sending their child into a classroom where students aren't wearing masks to protect each other.

"There are probably hundreds of students who will simply miss the last seven days of school," Lipson said. "This is a logistical nightmare."

With 18,000 students across 23 schools, the Central Bucks School District is among the largest in the state.

Acting Superintendent Abram Lucabaugh recommended that the board allow school administrators several days to prepare for the new guidance.

The board agreed to allow the new optional mask policy to go into effect Monday, just in time for the last week of the school year.

Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe