Mount Vernon School District is keeping its PK-6 mask mandate in place for the rest of this semester.
The school board took no action at its November meeting to change the mandate, which has been in effect since Sept. 23.
The mandate is to end 60 days after a vaccine is available for children 12 years old and under–which is the end of December/the first of January.
The district’s metrics team also recently supported keeping the mask mandate until winter break, said superintendent Greg Batenhorst.
Since Sept. 21, the district hasn’t had more than 27 COVID cases in a week (the week of Oct. 22), and the number of COVID cases decreased each of the two weeks after that.
During that time, the district also had 95 percent and above attendance.
In contrast, when the district has high incidences of flu, RSV and rhinovirus, school attendance is only in the high 80 percents, said Batenhorst.
Batenhorst also doesn’t recommend putting in a new mandate after this one runs out, he said, unless something new happens and COVID numbers increase a lot.
“Last year we anticipated an increase in COVID cases the second semester and didn’t have it,” he said.