Schools sticking with masks
TEXARKANA, Texas — Not all school districts in this area have made decisions on what mask policies will look like for the rest of the year after Gov. Greg Abbott’s ending of the statewide mask mandate starting March 10, but some have already made the determination to stick with what’s been working.
Liberty-Eylau and Redwater districts have already decided to continue with their established protocols of wearing masks through the rest of the year.
“With only 10 weeks of school remaining, Liberty-Eylau ISD will continue to follow the established safety protocols we have used all year, including masks, for the remainder of this year,” L-EISD Superintendent Ronnie Thompson said in a statement.
He said teachers were just deemed eligible to take the vaccine and need time to actually have it administered as a reason for this decision.
And it seems most districts and colleges are following suit.
Texas A&M University-Texarkana announced that the TAMU system will be continuing with current COVID-19 protocols.
“Based on our assessment of current conditions, this step will help us successfully complete the semester and is consistent with Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that masking and other protocols should be decided by our institutions, not by the state,” said Chancellor John Sharp in a statement.
On Friday, Texarkana’s largest school district released this statement:
“Following the direction from Texas Education Agency and the Centers for Disease Control Texarkana ISD will continue to follow the COVID-19 safety protocols and procedures that we have had in place since the beginning of the school year. This includes a requirement that students, staff and visitors wear masks.”
This trend will likely also include rural schools, as Simms Superintendent Rex Burks expects them to continue with what’s been working for them.
“I’ve not had a chance to talk to my school board yet. You know, they may have a different opinion than me, but from my standpoint, I don’t see where anything’s changed for us,” Burks said. “What we’ve been doing has been working well, and I don’t see any reason not to continue that.”
Burks expressed displeasure with how the governor has handled the masking situation, saying the announcement caused confusion with how students in his district perceived the news.
“He’s put us between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “Kids’ cellphones started going off after his announcement the other day, and they’re telling teachers in class, ‘Well, my mom and dad said I don’t have to wear the mask.’ It just opened a whole new can of worms for us to deal with.”
He said their process has resulted in them not having to quarantine any students since the winter storms. This, along with the state being somewhat early in the vaccination process, makes his lean towards wanting to not mess with what’s working.
“If we were further along in the vaccination process I’d feel better about it, but we’re going to stay business as usual, if we can,” Burks said