Centennial School District opts out of mask mandate for students, staff

Centennial School District votes for no mask mandate for students, staff

The Centennial school board voted against a mask mandate for students and staff in the district.

WARMINSTER, Pa. - Pennsylvania school districts weigh new mask mandates, now that they are free to set their own. The debates can be contentious and they still draw crowds.

A major decision impacting more than 5,000 students and even more staff, masks are now optional in the Centennial School District. The new policy voted on by the school board at Tuesday night’s meeting is effective immediately.

Many in the crowd supporting the decision with a round of applause, but many others, including parent and virologist Tina Cairns, is strongly opposed to the change.

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"If you have masks optional, you might as well have no masks because it’s not gonna stop the spread. It will only help as a great mitigation measure if everyone wears them," Cairns explained.

"I think it’s time to remove mask mandates. I think it’s been time," parent Eric Hillman stated. "Mental health of our children is affected. Socialization, speech problems out the wazoo from this."

FOX 29’s Jennifer Joyce spoke to Superintendent Dr. Dana Bedden prior to the meeting. He stated he supports an objective mask policy like the existing one, based on metrics community transmission rates.

"We had yesterday our largest one-day single case report that we’ve received from the county yesterday, with the number of students reported," Dr. Bedden commented.

"What is that number?" Joyce asked.

"We had 12 in one day, case report," Dr. Bedden replied.

Dr. Bedden says while he can offer a recommendation, the school board determines the district’s policy and he will support the board’s ruling.

"The previous board voted to err on the side of caution, so we implemented that. If the current board wants to change it, we will try to implement that as best we can, to try to keep kids and staff as safe as possible," Dr. Bedden added.