Milwaukee Public Schools is set to make face masks optional starting April 18.
Superintendent Keith Posley recommended that date because of the timing of spring break.
"That’s the reason we pushed that date out," Posley said. "Because we know staff and students are going on spring break next week we want to make sure that we have the two weeks following behind that, so that if there’s an outbreak we’ll be made aware of it."
Posley brought his recommendation to the school board Thursday. Instead of saying “yes” to the April 18 date, member Megan O’Halloran proposed leaving COVID protocol decisions to the administration, with the guidance of the CDC and Milwaukee Health Department, and in consultation with teachers and principals.
"I think that there are experts in this field and I am not one of them," O'Halloran said. "The conditions are fluid and I think empowering the administration to make these decisions in consultation with the [Milwaukee] Health Department would make it more efficient."
The board voted unanimously to allow administrators to make COVID safety decisions. That clears the way for Posley’s plan to relax the mask mandate April 18, though he could change the timeline based on COVID conditions.
MPS is one of just a few large school districts in the country with a mask mandate still in place. According the online Burbio tracker, 93% of the 500 biggest school districts are mask-optional.
More districts have been dropping masks since the CDC changed its guidance a month ago, to say that masks don’t need to be worn in areas with a low or medium COVID burden.
The CDC classifies Milwaukee’s COVID burden as low. Local health leaders say the current transmission rate is moderate and test positivity rate is low.
Cases within MPS have dropped significantly since a surge in January, which prompted the district to switch to remote learning. According to district data, fewer than 30 cases have been reported among students and staff in the last week.
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