Masks to be optional in McKeesport schools
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
Students in the McKeesport Area School District get to choose whether they wear a mask in school for the 2021-22 school year.
In a 6-3 vote at Wednesday’s meeting, McKeesport Area School Board approved its 2021-22 health and safety plan.
Board members Dave Donato, Diane Elias, Tom Filotei, Ivan Hampton, Jim Poston and Joe Lopretto voted in favor of approving the plan.
Board members Jim Brown, Steve Kondrosky and Mindy Lundberg opposed it.
“We are going to make, and it’s recommended in the actual plan, that masks are highly recommended for staff and students, but they are optional so it’s the family’s choice, the student’s choice to wear a mask if they so choose,” Superintendent Dr. Mark Holtzman said prior to the board vote.
The superintendent said masks must be worn on school buses and other school transportation vehicles.
According to the state Department of Education, a section of the American Rescue Plan Act requires each local education agency (school district) that receives funding under the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, known as ESSER, to develop and make publicly available a health and safety plan.
Holtzman said there’s a chance the situation with wearing masks could change.
He said if a mandate to wear masks gets handed down by Dr. Debra Bogen of the Allegheny County Health Department or by the state, “then obviously we’d have to shift gears at that point.”
“At this point, approximately half the Allegheny County schools are providing optional opportunities for their staff and students to wear masks based on the needs of their community,” Holtzman said.
Approval of the health and safety plan was on the agenda for last week’s workshop meeting, but the board barely addressed it.
Holtzman and Director Mindy Lundberg discussed the plan at length at Wednesday’s meeting after Lundberg said she wanted families and students to know what to expect in terms of wearing masks, social distancing and learning options as the start of school approaches.
The first day for students is Aug. 23. Teachers head back to school Wednesday.
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