CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. -- The Jefferson County Board of Education (JCBOE) voted during their regular meeting on Monday to continue the mask mandate in school facilities and on school vehicles. The 5-0 vote came after a presentation from Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Terrence Reidy, who relayed that the quarantine guidelines had not changed since he last spoke to the JCBOE in August.
The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) School Recovery and Guidance Document states that quarantining students and staff who have been exposed to a person with COVID-19 is NOT required if masks are worn at the point of exposure.
"Our goal from the start of the school year has been to serve children where we believe they have the best access to academic and social-emotional supports, and that is in the classroom," JCS Superintendent Dr. Bondy Shay Gibson-Learn said. "This decision is not about politics. It is about doing what we can to avoid mass quarantines and keep students in school learning."
Although there have been full classrooms quarantined at schools across the school system, Dr. Reidy said it would have been worse without the masking.
The JCBOE will revisit the decision again at their October 25 board meeting.