Kiski Area considers dropping quarantines, contact tracing

With coronavirus cases dropping dramatically since September, the Kiski Area School Board is anxious to move on from the two-year pandemic crisis.

The school board scheduled a vote for Monday, Feb. 28, to consider ending contact tracing and quarantines.

Mask-wearing on buses, however, might have to continue a little longer.

In September, there were as many as 150 district students in quarantine, with 50 infections reported.

There were between 10 and 19 quarantines this week, as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Assistant Superintendent Jason Lohr. There were only four active cases throughout the school district.

“It doesn’t make sense to contact trace anymore,” said Director Michelle Schmidt. “I personally think that we have to go back to educating our kids.”

Schmidt added that those who don’t feel well should stay home, as they would do with any other condition, such as the flu.

Solicitor Ronald Repak noted that school bus regulations are beyond the board’s control. He said they fall under the mandate for mask-wearing on public transportation issued by the Transportation Security Administration. Repack said that federal mandate could last into mid-March.

School board members indicated a vote on bus masking could be contingent on the mandate ending.

Repak said, at that point, the masking mandate regarding buses would be lifted without any school district voting on it.