Holden-based Regional School Unit 63 will begin school with universal masking after its board reversed its previous mask-optional policy Monday amid the accelerating spread of the delta variant.
All staff, students and visitors over age 2 at the district’s three schools will be required to wear face coverings when classes begin Wednesday under a plan the board approved 6-2 on Monday. The district had previously only required masking for visitors, though it had highly recommended that others wear masks.
The board faced a difficult decision, but the health of students and staff remained the paramount concern, Superintendent Susan Smith said. Rising coronavirus cases in Maine and Penobscot County came up in comments from parents last night, some of whom were health care providers themselves.
Parents in the district spoke on both sides of the issue, though Smith said she was glad that the debate had remained civil on an issue that has divided communities across the state and country.
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“Our staff is ready,” Smith said. “We’re excited about having kids back in our buildings.”
RSU 63’s three schools are Eddington Elementary, Holden Elementary and Holbrook Middle School in Holden. A total of 740 students were enrolled across the district in 2021, according to Maine Department of Education data. Students are from Clifton, Eddington and Holden. They can choose where they want to attend high school.
The decision comes as school boards across Penobscot County and Maine have voted to require masks before the school year begins after previously making them optional. The shift has been precipitated by the local spread of COVID-19. The 116 new cases reported in Penobscot County on Tuesday was by far the largest number in Maine and among the highest number of new cases the county has seen in a single day since the March 2020 start of the pandemic.
School officials also fear their districts could see a repeat of what has occured in Aroostook County, where coronavirus cases have forced schools in Limestone, Caribou and Van Buren, all of which started classes without a mask requirement, to go remote.
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RSU 63 is also recommending that all staff and students 12 and older — those eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech shots — get vaccinated as quickly as possible. Fully vaccinated people who do not show symptoms do not need to quarantine if exposed to a positive COVID-19 case. Any student or staff member who participates in the district’s weekly pool testing will also be exempt from quarantining, and many are exempt from quarantining if universal masking is in place at school.
Face masks had already been required on RSU 63 buses and vans under federal guidelines.