The Hempfield Area School Board this month will consider a number of possible changes to the district’s health and safety plan related to masking and quarantine periods.

The first amendment would reinstate mandated masking. The second amendment would eliminate barring students from school after they have had close contacts with positive cases at school but who have not tested positive for covid or show any symptoms, regardless of vaccination status.

Potential changes to the health and safety plan came after board members this week debated the best way to keep students and staff safe as cases continue to reach record numbers. As of Thursday, there were 89 covid cases across the district, 76 of which were students and 13 staffers, a tracker shows. The highest number of cases, 31, was reported at the high school.

“The job becomes so overwhelming when these numbers start to get high that it becomes impossible for our nurses to manage that many positive cases coming into their offices at that time,” Superintendent Tammy Wolicki said. “Our goal is to continue to keep schools open for in-person instruction. That is becoming more and more challenging.”

According to Wolicki, the high number of cases is causing staffing shortages across the district, which only is amplified by a low number of substitutes available for teachers, school nurses and custodial staff. Another challenge, Wolicki said, is ensuring students who quarantined for five days continue to wear a mask for the remaining five days while in school.

A person who is symptom-free who tests positive for covid-19 or who is identified as a close contact does not need to quarantine for more than five days, according to changed guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. However, it is recommended that the person wear a face mask in public for an additional five days.

“For our teaching staff, this has really become something that is almost unmanageable,” Wolicki said. “Really what we’re saying to the families is ‘Yes, your child can return on day six, and they need to be wearing a mask.’ In an elementary school, that’s pretty easy for a self-contained classroom. … In the high school, whenever they’re changing periods, it’s very difficult to inform that number of teachers that the masking is necessary.”

Board members quickly jumped in, giving their opinions on possible next steps.

Tony Bompiani, board president, suggested ending the quarantine period for those identified as a close contact but who are not positive and do not have symptoms. He noted other districts, such as Elizabeth Forward, give parents the option for their child identified as a close contact to quarantine for 10 days or continue to attend school as long as the student remains asymptomatic.

“I’d still like to see us vote that in,” Bompiani said. “That would really help the staff out here a lot. Of course, it wouldn’t help the staff out if the staff started getting sick, but still it would help the staff out because it wouldn’t have to be all this work with the quarantine and everything else.”

Board member Jerry Radebaugh said he is not opposed to changing quarantine guidelines but added, “We have to make sure that if we would move in that direction that we can trust the parents that if their kids are sick not to send them into the school. From what I see, I don’t know if that can happen.”

Other board members suggested reimplementing a mask mandate to help curb the spread of the virus. It also would limit the number of students and staff required to quarantine.

“I want to keep the kids in school, and what does it the best is, at this point, that everyone can agree on is masks,” board member Scott Learn said.

Board member Vince DeAugustine, also a wrestling coach, agreed with Learn, noting wrestlers are consistently quarantining and out of school.

Diane Ciabattoni said her goal is to keep schools open and operating as normal as possible.

“We have been thanked by students because of the way that we’ve handled things it has been able to be as normal as possible,” Ciabattoni said. “If masks will help one iota, I definitely support masks, but I want to keep the schools open with whatever it takes.”

Board members Jennifer Bretz and Mike Alfery disagreed.

“I am not in favor of going back to mask-only,” Bretz said. “I am sick of all this, and I think more on the lines that it’s a parent’s choice whether or not their child wears a mask.”

Alfery said there is no easy answer to the situation, noting the mask debate has become a “polarizing discussion.”

“I think omicron has been a gift from God. I think it’s spread more easily, but it’s not killing anywhere near as many people,” he said. “We’ve all lost somebody with covid, each and every one of us. It’s real, it’s out there, but the argument for the spread and adverse effects in schools, I just don’t buy it. The data’s not there to support us mandating anybody to do anything.”

Board member Jeanne Smith suggested holding a special meeting to gather information from both sides of the debate prior to a vote. That ultimately was voted down.

Officials will resume the debate and consider the two motions at 7 p.m. during the Jan. 24 meeting in the high school library.

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