Indoor mask mandate to be lifted at Davis schools

By Shira Kalish,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

At the March 3 school board meeting, the board voted unanimously to lift the indoor mask mandate at Davis schools beginning on April 11.

The board members made this decision following the announcement that the California indoor school mask mandate will end after March 11. The board chose the April 11 date for Davis Joint Unified School District because it is anticipated that there may be a surge in COVID-19 cases after spring break, and this date falls two weeks after the break.

At the board meeting, before the decision was made, more than 25 parents along with a few students and teachers made public comments both for and against the lifting of the mask mandate.

Many who wanted it lifted claimed that children benefit socially from seeing people’s entire faces.

Suzanne O’Keefe, parent of two children who attend Harper Junior High, said that she believes it is safe to remove the indoor mask mandate due to the high vaccination rate of children and teenagers in Davis.

“We need to see each other smile. We need to restore expression … We need to allow children, the group least at-risk from COVID-19 and seemingly most at-risk from negative psychological damage from the COVID restrictions, the freedom to communicate normally with teachers and classmates,” O’Keefe said.

Some parents claimed that masks are ineffective at slowing the spread of COVID-19. Some claimed that COVID-19 is no longer a threat at all.

A parent of children who attend DJUSD schools, who did not share her full name at the board meeting, said that “I am supportive of whatever decision you want to make for yourself and your family, I just believe that you should not have the right to make those decisions for me and my children.”

However, Davis High science teacher Jean-Paul Whittall opposed the idea that masking should be seen as a choice that individuals make for their own comfort and health.

“We set behavioral expectations based on community welfare over personal preference … masking was never about protecting yourself only, but protecting others from what you might be carrying,” Whittall said.

Those who wanted to keep the mask mandate voiced concerns surrounding the safety of students and teachers, particularly those who are most at-risk for severe illness from COVID-19 or who live with vulnerable loved ones.

“What about students who are immunocompromised? We can’t forget about them. What about students who live with their grandparents? We can’t forget about them. What about students with parents like my mother who work in health care and interact with elderly patients on a daily basis? We cannot forget about them,” junior Anna Kelly said. “If we prioritize personal comfort over public health, what does that say about us as a community?”

Kelly expressed concerns surrounding which students will choose to remove their masks if they are no longer mandated.

“I don’t think it’s beyond reason to acknowledge the fact that those who are most eager to remove their masks tend to be less COVID-conscious in the first place and thus are at a higher risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19,” Kelly said.

One DJUSD parent said that as three out of four people in her household are immunocompromised, the lifting of the mask mandate will be stressful for her family.

“(My children) feel safe with the masks. And we are less safe without them,” the parent said.

Kate Boxeth, parent of two children who attend DJUSD schools, believes that removing the indoor mask mandate is inequitable for lower-income students.

“Lower-income families have been disproportionately impacted with higher COVID cases and hospitalizations and deaths … And so to remove the indoor masking requirement would … (put) our lower income students and their families at a greater risk,” Boxeth said.