PRESCOTT — The Prescott School Board spent a majority of its Wednesday, May 19 meeting deliberating on how mask mandates will be adjusted for upcoming summer school classes.

The school board made masks optional for outdoor activities over the course of the three-week program. Masks will still be required for students and teachers in indoor settings, with the exception of gymnasium activities.

Prescott School District Superintendent Dr. Rick Spicuzza said on the matter, “My opinion and vote on mask rules for summer school has no sway over his opinion for how masks should be mandated for the fall.”

Prescott School District’s summer school programs are set to begin June 14 and run through July 2. All summer school activities for the district are set to last three hours each day. There are currently 347 students registered for Kindergarten through eighth grade and 149 kids registered for swimming classes for June Summer School.

Malone Intermediate Principal Michael Kosmalski provided the board with survey data on how parents and staff felt towards mask enforcement decisions for June Summer School.

The district sent 185 families a survey on whether they would have their children attend summer school if face coverings were or were not required indoors. Of the 185 families surveyed, 115 responded; in those responses, 89 percent of families said they were likely to attend if face masks were required, 11 percent said they would not. Seventy percent of families said they would attend if face masks were not required, while 30 percent said they would not.

The district surveyed all staff who are set to work summer school if they would work if masks were or were not required indoors. In the survey, 100 percent of staff said they would work if masks were required, but only half said they would still work if they were not required.

Personnel

At the meeting, it was announced that two Prescott Middle School teachers will be resigning from their posts following the end of the 2020-21 school year. Megan Burlingame, special education, and Angela Schaffer, language arts, will both be resigning from their teaching roles at Prescott Middle School.

There were also three new hires announced for Prescott High School and Malone Elementary for the 2021-22 school year. The Prescott High School new hires are Matt Rankin, who will be teaching science, and Emily Spofford, who will be a counselor. The Malone Elementary new hire is Hunter Black, a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Public comment

Multiple parents spoke at the meeting on their opinions against mask mandates for the remainder of the current school year in the Prescott School District, pressing that they hope mask mandates will not continue in summer school or next fall. One parent mentioned a petition signed by 326 parents to make masks optional immediately in Prescott School District.

Tessa Magnuson, a parent of a Prescott High School student, spoke to the board and praised them for their work to keep mask mandates going throughout the entire 2020-21 school year. Magnuson spoke about her daughter, with her permission, about how this school year has impacted her personally.

“She has anxiety, it was manageable until COVID. But COVID and starting high school changed everything. She’s also asthmatic. Masks, and understanding the policies and procedures that make her safe are the one thing that allows her to try and attend school. Knowing the adults around her are making the decisions based on science and our collective welfare that allows her freedom to breathe. Your decisions, [the school board] have made it possible for her to get through the year.”

Isabell Lenz and Sophie Tibayan, two Top 10 seniors at PHS, also spoke on the impact of masks to the board.

Tibayan said, “While COVID-19 has greatly impacted the school year in many aspects, including the ways in which we learn and interact with others, I can confidently state that wearing a mask during the school day has not contributed to the hardships this year has already brought. We have all still been able to be successful.”

Prescott School Board meetings will remain 7 p.m., every thirdWednesday of the month for the 2021-22 school year. Meetings will be moving back to PHS library.