Methacton Schools Now Aim To Make Masks Mandatory in 2021-22

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — Methacton School District administrators are now recommending universal mask-wearing regardless of vaccination status for the upcoming school year, the announcement coming on the heels of a recent change-in-position by Montgomery County health officials.

In a letter posted to the school district’s website on Tuesday, Superintendent David Zerbe said the recommended changes to the health and safety plan for the 2021-22 school year came about because both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Montgomery County Office of Public Health have since switched course on masking recommendations, with the position of both being that indoor mask-wearing by all individuals regardless of whether or not they have been vaccinated is a better mitigation effort against COVID-19, which has recently seen rising infection rates.

“The revisions by the CDC and MCOPH now specifically recommending masking for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals is at the heart of our concern,” Zerbe wrote in the Aug. 3 letter. "While the promise of being vaccinated was reported to limit the need for some mitigation strategies, the Delta variant is causing some vaccine breakthrough infections, meaning infections in fully vaccinated people, and is believed to spread more than twice as easily from one person to another …”

The district, Zerbe said, is now recommending that all students in kindergarten through 12th grade wear facemasks at all times while inside school buildings. There are also plans to change seating and distancing requirements in school cafeterias.

“The plan continues to provide a layered mitigation approach to allow for an appropriate in-person experience, now with mandatory masking,” Zerbe wrote. “The county has stated that universal masking combined with 3-feet distancing will significantly reduce the need for staff and students to quarantine (missing school/work).”

The revised health and safety plan was scheduled to be available starting today, Aug. 4, under the “plans” tab of the school district’s website. It can also be viewed here.

The school board had originally scheduled a special meeting for Aug. 4 to address the health and safety plan, but that meeting has now been pushed to Aug. 10 in light of the recommended changes.

The Aug. 10 meeting will take place in the Arcola Middle School auditorium beginning at 6:30. Community members can also view a live stream of the meeting via the district’s YouTube channel.