The Christian County School Board approved making the wearing of face masks while indoors for students and visitors a requirement during the upcoming school year.
That decision came after the board was presented with data concerning COVID-19 at the state, local and school district level—District Health Director Megan Kidd says that as of Thursday evening, they have 34 actives cases in the district, with 10 of those being staff and 24 of them students, with quarantining efforts already underway for those close contacts.
Approximately 8,126 students are currently enrolled to attend CCPS schools in the upcoming year, with 311 enrolled in the Virtual Learning Academy. Of that roughly 1,100 staff members in the district, around 695 are vaccinated against COVID-19. Assistant Superintendent Laura Morris says their goal is to keep students safe while letting them attend school in-person, which is proven to be the most beneficial learning setting for all students.
Superintendent Chris Bentzel says the sudden escalation in cases in the district is what prompted him to make the masking guidelines a requirement instead of an individual choice.
He says this includes when students are riding school buses, and they will continue to monitor the data and when it seems appropriate to do so, they can come back and look at lifting the mask mandate. Teachers and staff were already required to wear a facial covering—regardless of vaccination status—the measure was approved unanimously by the board, with board members Jeff Moore and Lindsey Clark not present for the meeting.
Assistant Superintendent Josh Hunt says the Kentucky Department of Education has approved the District Facility Plan that includes the potential for the consolidation of the local high schools—the final public forum before the school board votes on that will be next Thursday at South Christian Elementary School at 6 p.m. Attendees are asked to wear a face mask in the building.