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.
