Aurora / Covid-19 / Schools

Aurora school board will vote tonight on a resolution making masks optional

- Staff Report

The Aurora Board of Education will vote Monday night on a resolution that would make masks optional starting in January, according to an agenda posted on the district website.

The new policy would apparently replace an existing policy that uses multiple factors to determine whether masks are optional or required indoors. Leighton Elementary was forced to shut down last month and resume with a masks mandatory policy after dozens of children got sick.

The proposal comes as Northeast Ohio hospitals urge residents to take extra precautions in the face of a new Covid wave. Akron General is using a refrigerator truck for bodies, and ICU nurses at the Cleveland Clinic have taken the unprecedented step of letting TV cameras into the ward, making emotional pleas for rest.

The following is the resolution in full:

WHEREAS, the Board of Education of the Aurora City School District remains committed to the health and safety of its students, families, faculty, staff, and community,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Board of Education of the Aurora City School District affirms that effective January ___, 2022, masks/facial coverings shall be optional but encouraged while indoors or outdoors on school property and at school related activities or events unless otherwise enacted by a health order or by law. The Board will continue to comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order requiring masks on all transportation vehicles including school buses and vans.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 at 109 W. Pioneer Trail.

Staff Report

Get The Portager for free

Join over 7,000 people reading our free email to find out what's going on in Portage County.

Three issues per week
Be the first to know about new tax levies, community events, construction projects and more.
100% local
We only cover Portage County. No distracting national politics or clickbait headlines.

Aurora

County roundup: Aurora breaks ground on Geauga Lake park, plus news from Ravenna, Shalersville and Streetsboro

- by Roger Gordon .

Aurora The groundbreaking ceremony for Aurora Park at Geauga Lake took place Oct. 23. The city purchased approximately 47 acres of lakefront property at the former SeaWorld site from Industrial Commercial Properties in 2024. “It was a great event,” Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin said of the event that drew 50 to 60 people. Because a section of the park spills over into Bainbridge Township, the Bainbridge Trustees had to approve Aurora’s preliminary design plan for the park, which they did. […]

New charity forms to support Aurora Food Pantry

- by Lauren Cohen .

The Aurora VFW Post 2629 and the Knights of Columbus Council 14186 have been purchasing food for the Aurora Food Pantry for several years, donating over $36,000 of perishable food yearly as one of their community projects. But the need for assistance is growing.

County roundup: Aurora expands Geauga Lake property, plus news from Ravenna, Shalersville and Streetsboro

- by Roger Gordon .

Aurora The City of Aurora purchased a bit more property to add to its park property at Geauga Lake. “Our new park that we’re building has a small residential street right along its border called Fairview Avenue,” Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin said. “We have, during the last year, purchased some property on Fairview, and council recently approved the city buying three vacant lots on Fairview. The lot with the house won’t close until next year.” This property will save the […]