ASHLAND — Masks remain optional at Ashland City Schools and the district’s rules on quarantining have changed after a special board meeting held Wednesday.
The board voted 3-2 on two resolutions regarding the proposed mask rules, which board member Brandon Wells introduced.
Board members Fred Gingrich, Zack Truax and Gina Deppert voted against Wells’ proposed mask requirements.
The masking rule would have required staff, students and visitors to wear masks in all buildings and school buses for six weeks starting Sept. 16.
Another rule, which also failed, would have placed a mask requirement on district buildings where children under the age of 11 are present.
The same board members who dissented on the mask requirement voted in favor of amending the district’s protocols on quarantines.
Gingrich’s quarantine changes means students currently quarantined after coming in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 can come back to school starting Thursday.
“If a close contact student does quarantine voluntarily, they will not face penalties if work is made up,” the rule states.
The rule requires students exhibiting symptoms to quarantine until they are free of a fever or receive a negative COVID-19 antigen test. Those who receive a positive test would be required to quarantine for 10 days or until they receive a negative test.
The rule would also require district administration to call parents or guardians of students who come into close contact with another COVID-19 positive student. That person would also be recommended to be tested for the virus.
Wells took issue with the updated quarantine rules, saying the district is going to “open up the floodgates.”
“There are people that are close contacts that have some symptoms at home and assume that they might have it or be ill but don’t get tested,” he said. “We’re just going to bring them back immediately.”
The standing room only meeting drew several community members to the administration’s board room Wednesday. Some in attendance wore facial coverings. Most did not.
The board did not open up the meeting for public comment. In all, the meeting lasted around 30 minutes.
Wednesday’s meeting stemmed from a work session held Monday, where Wells and board member Fred Gingrich delivered presentations that included data about the virus and pleas to update rules.
The board’s discussions come after some community members have voiced a desire for a mask requirement. An Ashland parent circulated a petition two weeks ago. The petition had garnered 270 signatures as of Wednesday.
However, Troy Pidgeon — also an Ashland schools parent — launched his own petition Tuesday night. That petition pleaded board members to “remain neutral allowing the exercise of equal rights on masking.”
The petition had garnered 741 signatures as of Wednesday.
“The schools shouldn’t determine if my child needs to wear a mask or not,” Pidgeon said, adding masks contribute to social anxiety in children and that he isn’t convinced masks truly work in curbing the spread of the virus.
Pidgeon has three children in Ashland schools, age 10 and below. He said he is not against masking. He wears one when establishments — such as airports and medical offices — requires them.
If given the choice, however, he chooses not to wear one.
“A parent is going to know what’s best for their child — from the time they’re in the womb to when they leave the house, we do everything to protect our child to make sure they have everything they need,” he said.
The board’s decision came a day after Gov. Mike DeWine appealed to school superintendents to implement a mask requirement for staff and students during a surge of coronavirus cases.
“The data are now clear that there is a higher level of COVID-19 in school districts where masks are not required,” DeWine said. “If we want our schools to stay open, the best way to do that is for those 12 and over to get vaccinated. But because those under 12 are still too young to be vaccinated, we need students who come in to school to wear a mask until we get through this.”
Ashland City Schools reported six cases of COVID-19 among staff and 51 among students.
Half a dozen Ashland County pediatric providers issued a joint statement to Ashland board members Wednesday urging them to adopt a mask mandate in schools.
Tamara Cunningham, a pediatrician at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ashland, said she and five others signed the following joint statement and sent it to Ashland board members Wednesday.
“As pediatric providers in Ashland County, we, in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control, recommend masks be worn in all school settings which occur indoors or when social distancing can not be accomplished outdoors.
“We would like to urge the school boards and school administrators of all area schools to require masks in all school facilities. Masks help protect students and staff from contracting and transmitting COVID-19. COVID-19 can cause serious illness, long term health problems, and even death in adults and children.
“Our job is to keep kids healthy and safe, and we are asking the schools and community to help us protect kids by wearing masks in school. This will also protect the vulnerable family members of the students and staff. We want all kids to have the opportunity to safely learn at school, with masking being an integral part of a layered approach to combat COVID-19.”
The others who signed the statement include Andrea Knighton, Iris Castillo, Joyce McArdle, Lance LeVeck and Kirstin Fortune.
The school district had a vaccine clinic for students, teachers and family members Wednesday. Superintendent Doug Marrah said the clinic brought 17 families for “walk-in” appointments. Another eight families registered in advance.
He said the district did not keep track on how many of the patients were students and staff members. He said “families” do not represent single patients. For example, one family could mean four patients received the shot.
Marrah did not have final tallies as of Wednesday evening.
“We consider that number a success, and we’ll keep (scheduling them) moving forward,” he said.
Ohio Department of Health data show 38% of Ashland County residents have started a COVID-19 vaccine — 34% are fully inoculated, as of Sept. 15.
