PRESCOTT – The Prescott School Board voted Tuesday, June 8 to make masks optional for all students and staff indoors and outdoors in all district facilities and grounds effective June 9.

School Board President Mike Matzek said board members scrambled to call a special meeting in order to make a final decision on the long-debated and contentious mask issue before summer school begins.

“I know every one of us had to pull teeth to get here,”

S– MAS2S, Pa6- 8 Matzek said.

Board Vice President Steve Sizemore, who appeared virtually while on a family vacation, stressed that this decision is for summer school, not for the fall.

“This gives parents and staffing the opportunity to prepare and make decisions based on decisions made tonight if summer school is the right option for them,” Matzek said.

“We need to be really clear that this is not necessarily for fall,” Sizemore said. “It’s for June, July and August.”

At the May 19 school board meeting, the board voted to make masks optional for students and staff outdoors, but mandatory indoors except in the gymnasium and weight room.

Since Pierce County Public Health did not extend its mask advisory order when it expired June 4, and thanks to area data showing a marked decrease in COVID-19 cases, the board felt it important to meet again, Superintendent Dr. Rick Spicuzza indicated.

PCPH is still, however, recommending unvaccinated people wear masks while indoors, Spicuzza said.

The seven-day average of new or suspected COVID cases is 0 in Prescott School District currently, which includes five municipalities and roughly 7,800 people. In Pierce County, which has about 42,000 residents, the sevenday average of confirmed cases is less than one, Spicuzza said. The curve appears to have flattened significantly since April 24, he added.

“This year we’ve made sacrifices and used the information and data to make decisions,” Spicuzza said.

He talked about how the district had pivoted when needed, such as making middle and high school go hybrid in November/December when COVID cases spiked.

“Over the last 15 months we have navigated an unprecedented pandemic,” Spicuzza said. “We did so successfully, and that gives us confidence we can now pivot once again to our new normal and begin routines that are more in keeping with how Prescott School District will open in Fall 2021.”

The district’s first obligation, Spicuzza said, is to ensure the community is well-informed about and has access to vaccines throughout the summer so more barriers can be removed and confidence can be restored in everyone’s safety.

Now is the time to make changes, before summer school starts, Matzek said. In order to make an informed decision, he reached out to other school boards in the area for their rationale in voting to make masks optional. It came down to three points for him: the county advisory order expiring, the numbers of COVID cases plummeting, and other area school boards voting to make masks optional.

Somerset is the only Middle Border Conference district requiring face coverings as of June 8, Spicuzza said. Making this decision comes as a “big relief,” Matzek said. It takes the burden off administration and allows them to focus on other important things.

Sizemore said he felt two weeks ago that masks should have been made optional. He hopes families can get back to normal and that that can be maintained in the fall.

“I think understanding that the safety of our children and teachers is very paramount, but the data’s starting to show that we’re moving in the right direction and I think a key word is ‘normalcy,’” Sizemore said.

Board member Tanya Holub said getting back to normal has been the goal all along. She said she would like to revisit the topic in August/September, to remain flexible and pivot if needed.

Sizemore said the May 19 vote told families and staff masks would have to be worn indoors, so the challenge with this change is the decision’s lateness. He wondered if people can still enroll in summer school if they choose to, considering that masks are now optional.

“Our goal would be to work with any family who wants their children in programming,” Spicuzza said.

Board members Pat Block and Vicki Rudolph also supported making masks optional, though both wished more input had been collected from teachers.

“We have pretty solid reasoning or proof that we’re heading in the right direction,” Rudolph said. “I don’t want administrators to be hall monitors. We support them (teachers) as much as we can, but we’re at a point that we need to move forward.”

The resolution addresses all indoor and outdoor district facilities and grounds, and all departments and programs under Prescott School District (for example, PCR, Community Education, athletics and camps) authority. The board agreed the district will follow all external requirements when participating in external activities or venues.

Additionally, the YMCA provides child care and programming for PSD and has its own governance protocols requiring face coverings indoors, during transportation (contractor’s requirement), and is subject to various venues visited during field trips where face coverings are required. Changes are at the discretion of the YMCA, not PSD.