Faced with soaring coronavirus cases and a decision by the Pine-Richland school board to make masks optional for staff and students, district officials are now considering a plan that would segregate masked and unmasked children in classrooms.

Citing the state Supreme Court ruling that the Pennsylvania Department of Health overstepped its authority by making masks mandatory, the school board voted 6-3 on Dec. 13 to make masks optional beginning on Jan. 17.

Board president Greg DiTullio was joined by members Christina Brussalis, Marc Casciani, Joseph Cassidy, Lisa Hillman and Amy Terchick in the vote to make wearing masks in school optional.

School directors Peter Lyons, Carla Meyer and Matthew Mehalik voted against lifting the district’s mask mandate.

The board noted in a Dec. 16 news release outlining its decision that the vote went against the recommendation of administration officials, which called for staff and students to continue to wear masks.

“For clarity, this was a board decision and was not recommended by the administration,” the board said. “This decision removes the mitigation strategy of universal masking, giving the choice to families on whether they choose to mask or not.”

During a Jan. 3 meeting to outline how the district could proceed with in-person instruction coupled with the mask-optional decision, officials unveiled a plan to separate masked and unmasked children in classrooms with a 6-foot distance between the two groups.

The board is scheduled to continue discussion about the plan at a meeting on Jan. 10 at 4 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

Before developing the segregation plan, the district conducted a two-question survey asking parents whether they supported masks being required in schools, and if they wanted to continue with in-person instruction or favored a return to virtual learning.

Of the 3,066 responses received, parents of children in all grades except 7th and 9th through 12th supported a continuation of the mask mandate.

Of the 2,464 responses received for the in-person vs. virtual question, only 63 people supported a return to remote learning.

”The mask or no mask question helps us understand the situation in the classroom,” district officials said. “We know from experience and input that some parents whose children are masked do not want them to sit within 6 feet of an unmasked student.”

The district also released data showing that the number of monthly coronavirus cases have risen significantly compared to the same time the previous year.

• September 2020: 2 cases; 2021: 87

• October 2020: 5 cases; 2021: 43

• November 2020: 42 cases; 2021: 97

• December 2020: 69 cases; 2021: 176

• January 2021; 40 cases; 2022: 18 (as of Jan. 3)

“We remain in high transmission,” Superintendent Brian Miller said during the Dec. 13 meeting. “There’s more virus in the community and after 20 months we know that what’s happening in the community is happening in our schools. We see that direct connection because the virus doesn’t know the difference between boundary lines.”

District officials said that if the board approves the plan to separate masked and unmasked students, it will be easier to accomplish in the elementary grades because seats can be arranged to “provide some of the distancing to reduce the risk of quarantine.”

“At the middle and high school levels, it becomes more challenging since students attend up to eight different classes,” they said.

School officials said the goal is to provide “6 feet of physical distancing between masked and unmasked students in the classroom but (we) cannot guarantee it.”

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