Masks are Optional in WISD - Effective March 10, 2021 | Weatherford Independent School District

Last week, Governor Greg Abbott announced he was lifting the statewide mask mandate effective Wednesday, March 10th. The following day, school districts across Texas received an update from the Texas Education Agency on how this would affect schools. In a statement, the TEA said that school boards have the “full authority to determine their local mask policy.”

At the Regular meeting of the Weatherford ISD Board of Trustees held on March 8, 2021, the school board adopted a resolution lifting the mask mandate making it optional for students and staff to continue wearing masks or face coverings effective March 10, 2021.

School board president Mike Guest explained, “We knew the reactions to the Governor’s announcement were both positive and negative. Before making this decision, we gathered input from our families and staff. Both surveys yielded the greatest number of responses ever received. We reviewed the survey data, read comments submitted from families and staff, and examined the declining trend of positive COVID-19 cases in both Weatherford ISD and in Parker County.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, businesses, and the educational environment for our children. We hope this decision brings some degree of normalcy back to the classroom. This decision gives parents and staff the right to do what they feel is best for their families. If you feel it is important to continue to wearing a mask to minimize your risk of exposure to COVID-19, we support you and highly encourage you to do so. We will continually monitor the number of positive cases as we move forward through the remainder of the school year and re-evaluate this decision should we experience a spike in positive cases.”

Dr. Beau Rees stated, “It is important for parents, students, and staff to know that all other COVID-19 precautions will continue. Desk dividers will still be used, the cleaning and E-misting of schools and buses will continue, social distancing will be enforced, and students and staff will be encouraged to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer at every opportunity. We will also continue contact tracing when positive cases are identified. In addition, we will offer the opportunity for families to change the learning platform for their children from learning in-person to virtual learning.

Weatherford ISD is grateful that educators have now been included in the phased vaccine rollout. As vaccines continue to be widely distributed to educators and all citizens, district officials will assess and reevaluate the face-covering requirement this summer in preparation for next school year.

As we approach Spring Break next week (March 15-19), we wish all of our students, families, and staff a safe and restful week off and look forward to finishing the school year on a positive note.”

WISD Survey Results

Parents:
2,940 responses
58.9% (1,729) in favor of lifting the mask requirement
41.1% (1,205) in favor of keeping the mask requirement

WISD Staff
902 responses
60.4% (545) in favor of lifting the mask requirement
39.6% (357) in favor of keeping the mask requirement

Published March 9, 2021 Print