HCPS mask mandate ends Nov. 15 for all students, staff & visitors

Masks in Henderson County schools will be optional beginning Nov. 15 for all students, staff and visitors.

The Henderson County Board of Education unanimously approved making masks optional for high school students beginning Monday. A motion by Vice Chair Amy Lynn Holt making masks optional for elementary and high school students was approved 4-3.

A previous motion by Chair Blair Craven to begin the option Jan. 1 for elementary and middle school students failed with four no votes because of the delayed date.

Craven wanted to delay the change to give parents of children ages 5-11 time to vaccinate their kids, if they so choose, since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just began recommending the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine for that age group last week.

"There does have to be an end game at some point," Craven said.

Board members agreed that quarantine numbers likely will go up once masks are optional.

The majority of speakers during public comment, including students, were against the mask mandate or asked for masks to be optional. Some asked to wait until after Christmas break to make masks optional to give them time to vaccinate their children.

Of 123 written comments submitted online, 23 supported continuing the mask mandate until children ages 5-11 can be vaccinated, 37 supported continuing the mandate, more than 30 wanted to end the mandate and around 20 wanted masks to be optional. Several wrote they also want quarantining to stop.

COVID cases have decreased and are at a plateau while quarantine numbers continue to remain low, Superintendent John Bryant said. The seven-day rolling average number of cases in Henderson County as of Nov. 7 was 19 per 100,000, according to the Harvard Global Health Institute. That number is down from 33 on Oct. 11.

Holt observed, based on HCPS cases and quarantine data, that cases continued to climb while masks were worn, but quarantine numbers did go down. Bryant reported that during the week of Nov. 1-5, there were 15 positive cases and 18 quarantines.

"I've seen the data from 10 trillion different directions and I'm over it," Craven said. "The vaccine, for me, is where this (mask mandate) ends for me."

Board member Jay Egolf said the board always finds a reason to continue the mask requirement. "You (Craven) asked for an end. This isn't an end," Egolf said. "We can change our minds."

He later added that the board will not tolerate any bullying regarding masks. Holt said it isn't the board's job to mandate a vaccine or wearing masks.

Board member Kathy Revis said she strongly recommends wearing masks because she believes the data shows it works, along with proper handwashing and cleanliness. Board member Robert Bridges said the decision should be made by parents.

The passage of N.C. Senate bill 654 requires boards of education to vote on mask policies at least once a month.

North Carolina hasn't issued a COVID-19 vaccination standard for employers. Bryant told the board that by Nov. 20, the N.C. Department of Labor must announce whether it intends to adopt, not adopt, or adopt with modifications a similar standard in its state OSHA-approved plan.

Lurah Lowery is the education and city government watchdog reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at llowery@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @lurahlowery and Facebook.com/lurahjournalist.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: HCPS mask mandate ends Nov. 15