The mask mandate is now up to the two Pueblo County school district's boards of education. The Pueblo County Board of Health decided unanimously on January 26 to alter the county's mask mandate for public schools. Pueblo School District 60 and Pueblo County School District 70 will decide through a vote by each school district's Board of Education which of two options proposed to the Board of Health by Pueblo Department of Public Health Environment Director Randy Evetts they chose to follow.
"The Board of Health did not take the mask mandate away," Evetts said. "They kept it in place but they created some provisions that allow some flexibility for districts to approach it in another way if they vote to do so."
The first option proposed by the board does not require mask-wearing in classrooms. Masks would still be required on public transportation through federal law. The second option does not include mandatory masking and gives school districts "full responsibility" for COVID-19 mitigation.
"All of the options include strong recommendations that schools continue masking, that they do symptom checking, that they do social distancing, and that they improve ventilation," Evetts said. "All of those things are still important. It's not one strategy without consideration of the other strategies. For immunocompromised students and staff, including those with chronic health conditions and special needs, masking, symptom checking, and vaccination continue to be strongly recommended for both options,” Evetts said.
"The decision is giving the districts some flexibility and helping them to understand that they are assuming the responsibility and the liability for managing this on their own," Evetts said.
The Board of Health's decision was unanimous, although Dr. Chris Urbina, Medical Director for PDPHE, suggested the board keep the mask mandate as it was originally set out.
The two districts may have contrasting opinions on mask mandates. Pueblo D60 sent a letter to Pueblo County Board of Health President Donald Moore on Jan. 20 in defense of school mandates.
D70 Board of Education members sent a letter, signed by all five members of the Pueblo D70 Board of Education, to the Board of Health requesting they consider removing the school mask mandate as early as December 10.
Following the Jan. 26 Board of Health decision, Pueblo D70 Board of Education President Anne Ochs said board members will vote on the next steps for D70 following an assessment of possible mitigation strategies.
The next Pueblo D70 meeting is on Feb.1. Pueblo D60 will hold its next regular board meeting on Feb. 22.