GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Green Bay school board hosted a listening session Sunday concerning masks and students this fall.
It comes ahead of a special board meeting tonight at 5 pm.
33 people signed up to speak at the online listening session this evening.
The Green Bay school board will vote on whether the district will follow the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines for masking when schools starts again.
Sean Conway would like to make masking optional in schools.
“We have one child that has a heart condition so for her, we want her to wear a mask, but then again we didn’t want to have to push it on other parents. We want to make sure that it’s optional for everybody.”
Currently the district doesn’t require masks for those in high school, but does require masks indoors in elementary and middle school.
To date, only those 12 and older are eligible to receive a vaccine.
Bethe Lane is asking the board to keep the current masking policy in place.
“I want my kids to be in school, making friends, learning, but most importantly, I want them to be safe.”
Rebecca Hebbe says requiring masks is unrealistic at this point.
“Masks are not needed anywhere else, nor required anywhere else, other than the hospital which is the only place that makes sense to me because sick people go there.”
As COVID hospitalizations increase around the country, more communities are starting to require masks to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.
Deaths and hospitalizations have been predominately among the unvaccinated.
Kaili Kirch says that masking is the best option we have right now to protect those who cannot get vaccinated.
“We don’t always know when we are infected so this is precisely why the unvaccinated need them. The CDC guidance clearly states only vaccinated people are safe to unmask. It does not say anyone vaccine-eligible is safe to unmask, the motion that’s written does not follow CDC guidance either way.”
The Appleton and Neenah school boards will also be discussing pandemic and masking guidelines this week.
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