Masks will not be required in Lisbon schools beginning March 14, after the school committee voted unanimously to drop its mandate on Tuesday.

While Lisbon School Department Superintendent Richard Green suggested starting this new policy March 7, the board won’t drop the mandate for another week, giving students and staff time to adjust and see if there might be a spike in COVID-19 cases after the February break, considering the department saw an increase in cases after students returned from Thanksgiving break in 2021.

Students will be returning to school on Feb. 28 following the February vacation.

“I would be comfortable with making masks recommended from March 14, giving us an extra week to make sure that we do see (COVID-19 positive) numbers falling and that they are staying down there because I don’t know if one week after the school break is enough time to gauge the rise and fall of the COVID-19 case counts,” said school board committee member Ross Cunningham. “Once we put the word out, I want to make sure we are doing it with as much data under our belt, and that is my personal preference.”

Another school board member, Margaret Galligan-Schmoll, said the one-week timeframe is a little too tight if there is a five-week lag in the previous infection.

“I do appreciate not just ripping the band-aid off when we go back because that would be hard,” Schmoll said. “I think I would like us to consider a hybrid even. Wherein, in the movement of kids from class to class, they have masks up and when they sit at their desks, they can have their masks off.”

The CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all students ages 2 and older, staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.

Lisbon’s school board only recommends that students, faculty and visitors wear masks.

“I believe masks should be kept on at all times,” said Lisbon parent Jason Koundry. “They had such a bad spread over the last few months, and just because cases are down, for the time being, I don’t think we should be too lax on taking them off. The people who want masks off are usually the first to complain when their child has to quarantine because of exposure.”

According to the Lisbon School Department Director of Curriculum Julie Nichols, there are 331 known vaccinated students in the school district. Districtwide, 183 staff members are vaccinated and many are in the process of getting booster shots or are already boosted.

As of Feb. 17, the district had 97 cases of COVID-19, according to the Maine Department of Education schools 30-Day COVID-19 case report.

A total of 222,925 COVID-19 cases have been reported across the state since the pandemic began.

Green said masks would still have to be worn on school buses per CDC guidelines and masks would be recommended for those returning to school after testing positive for COVID-19.

“We encourage families whose children have COVID-19 symptoms to keep them home,” said Green. “We have tests at school, so before people send their kids into the classroom, let us know if the students have symptoms, and we can schedule tests just to eliminate the contact tracing stuff.”

Green continued: “Everybody has been through a lot. I feel confident with all the safety protocols and procedures that we still have in place that the schools are still and will be the safest place for these kids. I think it is time to consider moving forward in dealing with COVID-19 like most other places have already done.”

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