School board votes to make masks optional for students, staff in Columbus County

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — In a unanimous vote, the Columbus County School Board decided to follow the recommendation of Superintendent Deanne Meadows and decided to make masks optional for students and staff this school year.

The protocol passed by the Columbus County School Board on Thursday follows the toolkit offered by the state, that students and staff are advised to wear a mask, but not required.

School buses are the only exception, masks are mandatory for everyone onboard.

Many parents speaking to the board said they are against a mandatory mask mandate. They want the decision for students to wear a mask, to be made by parents.

Maria Reaves, a mother of three students attending school in the district, opposes masks being required in schools. She says she felt heard after voicing her concerns to the school board.

“It’s not a mandatory thing now, so that’s –you know some positive, and I just hope we could get back to some type of normalcy with the kids, because they need to be in school and they need to have their face –you know they need that interaction,” said Maria Reaves, parent.

District schools will follow the same rules for sanitation as last year. the use of water fountains will be limited, but students will receive water bottles.

Social distancing at 3 feet will be followed, and no quarantine will be needed if students or staff are vaccinated, should they come in contact with a person with COVID-19.

District Superintendent Deanne Meadows, said she is pleased with the outcome of today’s meeting.

“We’re going to try to do everything we can to make people as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately, there is just division about this in the community and in the country and we’re not going to satisfy everybody unfortunately,” said Deanne Meadows, Columbus County Schools Superintendent.

Vice Chairman of the Columbus County School Board Ronnie Strickland, raised concerns about students being bullied for their decisions to wear a mask or not.

“I see what goes on in the country today, you know, I do have social media accounts, and I see — and you know there’s so much of just personal attacks because of somebody voicing their opinion and I can see it spilling over into our school system, because of a personal decision that somebody makes,” said Ronnie Strickland, Vice Chairman of the Columbus County Board of Education.

Under the protocol, the district will participate in a program offered by the state to offer COVID-19 testing through a third party vendor to students. testing will require permission from parents.