Gardner Edgerton is latest Johnson County school districts to end mask mandates
The Gardner Edgerton School District voted Tuesday to lift mask mandates for older students.
The school district’s board of education voted 6-0 to end the mask mandate for high school students, grades nine through twelve, during their evening meeting. The change begins Thursday.
The board also voted unanimously to lift the mandate for seventh and eight graders starting after Thanksgiving break, on Dec. 1.
The board decided to lift the high school mandate more than a week before the junior high mandate ends.
“That will also give us some time to see where our numbers trend, and if we see the high school spike, then we’ll know hey, ooh, this was a horrible idea,” board president Rob Shippy said during the meeting, adding that if an outbreak occurs, a temporary mask mandate can be re-instated.
If the percentage of recommended quarantines and isolations is greater than 4% of a building’s student enrollment, masks will again be required for at least two weeks, and until the recommended quarantines and isolations is less than 2% for two consecutive weeks.
The mask requirement will remain in place for elementary students, grades Kindergarten through sixth, for the time being. All students must continue wearing masks when in the hallways and outside their classroom.
The board also approved a “test to stay” program beginning after Thanksgiving for students exposed to the virus.
While COVID-19 cases had been dropping in Johnson County, health officials have reported an increase in new cases over the past couple of weeks. On Tuesday, the county’s incidence rate — or the number of cases per 100,000 people in the past 7 days — was 145 per 100,000. That’s up from 88 per 100,000 on Nov. 1.
That puts Johnson County back in the “high risk” category of COVID-19 transmission, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance.
“As the holidays approach and temperatures drop, more of us will be gathering indoors which is the perfect environment for COVID-19 and flu to spread,” health officials said in a tweet. “If you’re eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot, now is the time to get it. If you are not vaccinated for COVID-19 or flu, please consider doing so this week so you’re protected during the holiday season.”
In the past week, a handful of local governments and school district have also made plans to lift their mask mandates.
On Monday, Roeland Park City Council voted 5-4 to let the mandate expire, effective immediately. The same day, the Shawnee Mission school board voted 5-2 to drop the mask mandate for students and staff in secondary schools after winter break, on Jan. 3.
The Blue Springs School District on Friday announced the immediate end of its requirement for children and school staff to wear face coverings in its buildings.
Also on Friday, Jackson County ended its mask requirement 10 days ahead of schedule when leaders voted 5-4 to immediately suspend its health order. The requirement applied to areas of Jackson County other than Kansas City and Independence, neither of which have a current mandate in place.
The Star’s Sarah Ritter contributed.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 8:45 AM.
