Greendale Elementary Schools Will Require Masks

GREENDALE, WI — The Greendale Board of Education voted Thursday to make masks required in all District elementary schools for the upcoming 2021-22 school year.

The rule will apply to all students, staff and visitors in Canterbury, College Park and Highland View elementary schools. Masks will be recommended in middle and high schools, but not required. If pandemic conditions change, the board may revisit the topic in the future.

The decision was in part because the age difference between the schools. Students 12 and older are able to get vaccinated. Everyone younger than 12 is unable to get a vaccine due to a lack of authorization from the FDA.

"Going back to the personal choice, if you wanted to, you'd have the vaccine to protect yourself," Thor Misko, vice president of the board, said in the meeting. "This gives them that personal option versus the masking, that help the others."

The vote came after a lengthy discussion from the public and Board of Education members. At the start of the meeting, Superintendent Kim Amidzich outlined some of the reasoning and input behind the initial return to learning plan.

People reached out to the District with the desire to make masks optional. Others have reached out hoping to make them mandatory, according to Amidzich's statement at the meeting.

In a recent letter to school boards, local health departments, including the Greendale Health Department, came together to recommend universal masking in all K-12 schools. The advice aligns with that of the CDC: In areas of high and substantial spread, all people, regardless of vaccination status, are recommended to wear masks.

"We need to now come back as a community and focus on achievement in our schools," said Joe Crapitto, president of the Greendale Board of Education.