Allegheny Valley School District superintendent proposes keeping mask requirement

Allegheny Valley School District Superintendent Pat Graczyk said masks should remain on the faces of students, teachers and any visitors to Allegheny Valley school buildings for at least the start of the coming school year, and likely throughout it.

He also said the same level of social distancing, contact tracing and cleaning that was in place last year should remain.

Graczyk said the decision had less to do with the recent spike in covid cases caused by the delta variant than the current guidance he is receiving.

“We know that last year we were continuously having to send kids home to quarantine. At times, we had to send an entire classroom home, which means kids were out of school for at least 10 days in many cases,” Graczyk said. “If kids are masked, it limits that disruption, and that’s what we’re looking at.

“How do we get our kids in school and keep them in school with as little disruption as possible? The way we see to do that is wear a mask.”

Graczyk made the proposal at an agenda planning session last Tuesday. A listening session was held Thursday so Graczyk and the school board could hear parents’ concerns about the plan.

The board will vote on the proposal at its regular meeting Tuesday with a simple majority of the nine-member board needed for passage.

Many of the roughly 20 parents who attended last Tuesday’s meeting were not in favor of the proposal, Graczyk said.

“The majority of (the parents) wanted the option to send their kids without masks,” Graczyk said.

Graczyk said the meeting became a little volatile, with at least one man showing up at the Acmetonia Forum without a mask. He was told either to put one on or leave and eventually left.

School board President Larry Pollick expressed his support for the proposal and indicated he was cautiously optimistic the board will pass it.

“One of the things we know for sure: If you ride the bus, you wear a mask,” he said. “And if you’re in school, and you have a mask on and the other kid who doesn’t have a mask tests positive, he’ll go home and quarantine. And the kid with the mask won’t if he’s not showing any signs. He can continue school.”

Pollick said it’s important to do what is necessary to keep students in school because virtual learning is not effective.

“What did we learn from last year? We learned that virtual learning is not getting the job done. I don’t care how well you do it,” he said. “I saw it first-hand with my grandchildren — how frustrating it can be. And I heard enough stories from parents and grandparents about the horrors of virtual learning.”

At the same, Pollick acknowledged he doesn’t want to make any child uncomfortable.

“I can understand the strong feelings that parents have about mask-wearing,” he said. “But the rules that many school districts are embracing are what that school district feels is necessary to keep up the quality of education throughout the year.”