Masks Optional In Central Bucks Schools Next Year

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The Central Bucks School board voted 5-3 on Tuesday to approve a health and safety plan that makes masks optional in all K-12 schools for the 2021-2022 school year.

Board President Dana Hunter, Vice President John Gamble, and board members Lorraine Sciuto-Ballasy, Leigh Vlasblom and Sharon Collopy voted in favor of the plan, while board members Karen Smith, Jodi Schwartz and Tracy Suits voted against it. Board member Daniel Ring was absent.

The decision came following more than three hours of public comment and board discussion. It also came on the same day the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance recommending vaccinated Americans resume mask-wearing indoors in certain circumstances. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the change comes after seeing new scientific data from recent outbreak investigations which shows that the Delta variant is much more contagious and transmissible than previous strains of the virus.

Also on Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf said that his administration would not consider reinstating a statewide mask mandate in Pennsylvania schools, though he recommends that schools follow the CDC guidance. The Pennsylvania Department of Education's most recent guidelines for the 2021-22 school include a recommendation that unvaccinated people continue to wear masks indoors.

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While Bucks County has experienced an increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, county commissioners said Monday they have no plans to recommend that vaccinated residents wear masks in indoor settings, as the increases have not resulted in a significant rise in hospitalizations or deaths.

Prior to Tuesday's meeting, group of concerned parents and medical professionals held a press conference outside the school administration building, where they called on the board to make mask wearing mandatory. They later presented the school board with a petition including more than 350 signatures of local residents supporting the measure.

"Masking and mitigation measures are important parts of our toolkit, and it's important to use every tool in our toolkit to save children from COVID-19," said Anusha Viswanathan, a pediatric infectious disease physician in Bucks County.

There was also a large contingent of parents vehemently against requiring students to wear masks in schools.

Jamie Walker, of Chalfont, said the board should follow the guidance of Bucks County Health Director David Damsker, who said in early June that a mask mandate is no longer necessary given the county's low level of COVID transmission and the low risk of severe illness among children.

"No one is wearing a mask next year, it's over," Chalfont said. "If they want to wear a mask, they can wear a mask."

Acting Superintendent Abram Lucabaugh noted that the district's health and safety plan is a fluid document that can be changed and voted on at future board meetings.

"If cases were to mount, the district reserves the right to require temporary masking, depending on the data," Lucabaugh said.

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