Update from the Superintendent: February 14, 2022

Update from the Superintendent: February 14, 2022
Posted on 02/14/2022

Last week, Governor Hochul indicated that the statewide indoor mask mandate will be repealed on Thursday, February 10, 2022.  However, she further noted that the mask mandate for schools and certain other congregate settings will remain in effect.

 

The Governor indicated that in order to determine the next steps regarding universal masking in schools, following the February school recess period, the state will evaluate metrics such as:

 

(1) cases per 100,000

(2) percent positivity

(3) hospital admissions

(4) pediatric hospitalizations

(5) vaccinations

(6) global trends

 

I know that this is not the announcement we were hoping to hear. Please know that this is not a district, county, or BOCES wide-decision.  

 

This is a mandate directly from the Governor’s Office and the Department of Health.  All New York State schools are required to comply in order to operate.

 

Once the Governor provides school districts with the authority to do so, and as long as COVID rates are declining/remain low, our Board of Education is supportive of, and looking forward to, letting parents and guardians decide whether or not their children wear masks while in school.   

 

At the same time, we as a district, also need to be aware of the federal mask requirements for district transportation currently in place  and  that any future changes in NYS masking requirements in school could affect current NYS Department of Health requirements related to isolation and quarantine. While we are looking for clarification on these two issues, we do not yet have answers for either.

 

I will share more information as it  becomes available.

 

As always, I appreciate your patience and support as we continue to work through this time together.

 

Michael Healey

Superintendent of Schools