A hatchet or a scalpel?

The Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees discussed the possibility of revising their Smart Start Plan to remove mask requirements in schools during their March 15 meeting.

The discussion came three days after another school district, Sublette County School District No. 1, voted 4-2 to eliminate their Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) approved SMART Start Plan. The Pinedale Roundup reported on March 12 that the decision came following a press release from Governor Mark Gordon announcing the repeal of the statewide mask mandate with the exception of K-12 schools.

While the Sublette County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees may have been somewhat united on their decision-one that, according to their legal counsel, may have unintended consequences-the members of the CCSD2 Board of Trustees were divided on how to approach the topic.

Chairman James Sewell initiated the discussion, stating that it primarily stemmed from Gordon's announcement about the statewide mask mandate and that he wanted to have the discussion in a public forum rather than via electronic means. The discussion then began with CCSD2 Superintendent Jim Copeland providing his perspective on the issue.

"Mine doesn't have to do with arguing the logic, the consistency or inconsistency. I totally agree it's been all over the place since the beginning as far as directives we're having to follow," said Copeland. "I guess I'm just coming from it like I've always kind of done in my role as superintendent. What are we setting the district up for possibilities if the board votes to go their own way, kind of like Pinedale did. Are there repercussions? Is state funding at risk? Is accreditation at risk? Because right now we're operating under this plan that WDE has approved."

The consistency, or lack thereof, in public health orders was heavily discussed by certain board members as a reason to eliminate the requirement of masks in schools. Vice Chairman Kaycee Alameda commented that, when school is dismissed, the students are removing their masks and hanging out off of school grounds.

"There's a lot of different variables that we're dealing with now that we weren't dealing with last fall. We've got kids that have beared this burden, let's face it, and so have teachers. This has really become a school burden, this virus," said Alameda. "I'm not sure why because the public's out doing what they want, myself included, but the kids have really beared this and shouldered this weight. So have teachers. So have principals."

Alameda added that, from her understanding, the decision made by the Sublette County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees came as a surprise to several people.

"I don't think this board is that type of a board that would go against what the people that are working for education in this district (want). I don't think we're that way but I do think that, as elected officials, status quo and just following on this whole plan that we started is dangerous for us sitting here," Alameda said. "We're the ones hearing from parents, from grandparents, from other elected officials."

Boardmember Joe Gaspari followed Alameda, stating there was a proper way to appeal to an authority and "Let's try and do this without being confrontational to begin with."

Gaspari added that the district needed to gather as much data as possible before making a decision on how to proceed, something that Boardmember Nick Wamsley agreed with.

Wamsley stated that part of that data should show how effective the SMART Start Plan has been in keeping students in school and preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus. After that, the decision would need to be made on what to do with the plan.

"Do we take a hatchet to this thing or do you look at it with a scalpel?" asked Wamsley.

As discussion continued, the Board of Trustees looked to the secondary school principals.

J.D. Johnson, principal of Saratoga Middle High School, stated that he had not received many complaints from students or parents and that the students were fairly compliant with the mask requirement.

Mike Erickson, principal of Encampment K-12 School, added that most of his work came in the form of educating students and parents on what guided the school district outside of public health orders. 

"Am I supposed to be following the guidance that you give me or the guidance that the Department of Ed (education) gives me?" asked Erickson. "I don't want to be put in a position where I have to choose between the two."

Legal counsel for the Board of Trustees, Bill MacPherson, was attending via teleconference and stated that the school district was in uncharted territory. Citing Wyoming State Statute 35-1-105(a)(i), he informed the board that it was possible they could be charged with a misdemeanor for "willfully violating" a public health order. 

MacPherson quickly added that he doubted the county attorney, Ashley Mayfield-Davis, would prosecute such a case. MacPherson also raised concerns similar to Copeland about accreditation and funding, along with the potential loss of insurance and public entity immunities.

Noel Manning, CCSD2 curriculum director, also pointed out that there was more wrapped up in the SMART Start Plan than just the wearing of masks. The plan also included guidance and approval for the school district to conduct Curriculum Based Virtual Education. Boardmember Paul Clark, who attended via teleconference, raised his concern about the added workload for janitorial staff who would still be sanitizing per the SMART Start Plan while teachers, students and visitors would be without masks.

No official decision was made, but consideration of a variance to remove the mask requirement will be one item discussed at a special meeting of the Board of Trustees next week.

The special meeting of the CCSD2 Board of Trustees will be at 5 p.m. on April 7 at the Platte Valley Community Center.

The next regular meeting of the CCSD2 Board of Trustees will be at 5 p.m. on April 19 at the Platte Valley Community Center.