Broward County Public Schools discussed mask protocols. Here’s what leadership decided
Broward County Public Schools changed its mask policy after holding an emergency School Board meeting on Friday, but stopped short of forcing teachers to wear masks when they return to classrooms on Monday.
The School Board voted 5-3 to mandate that visitors and vendors wear masks when visiting schools. It strongly recommended that staff and students wear masks but did not require its teachers to do so, unlike neighboring Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Board members also voted to give interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright authority over when to relax mask rules or mandate masks without requiring a board meeting.
Friday’s emergency meeting — held amid a record surge of COVID-19 infections in Florida — came after Miami-Dade Schools on Thursday required that all adults wear masks starting on Monday, when students return from winter break. Students are encouraged to wear masks, but a new law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis prevents the district from instituting a mask mandate for pupils.
“I will support any decision that the board makes, and we’ll make sure to implement it with fidelity,” Cartwright told the Miami Herald during an interview after the board meeting.
Some board members convened in person and others — including Nora Rupert, who announced prior to Friday’s meeting that she has COVID-19 — joined online on Friday afternoon. Members initially voted in favor of maintaining the status quo, in which mask-wearing is optional, with a strong recommendation for everyone to wear masks.
“I am shocked that we’re going to make a decision that adults that can wear a mask won’t be wearing a mask,” said Laurie Rich Levinson, who is the board chair and represents District 6. “It is going to be a free for all. I don’t understand how it’s going to be better for none [to wear a mask] than for some.”
Community members were just as divided as their representatives. Some urged members to vote in favor of mandating masks for adults and students.
“I do support the change in policy. The district just paid out millions of dollars related to Parkland related to school safety,” said Michael Emanuel Rajner, a resident and vice chair of the Broward County Human Rights Board, referring to the district’s settlement in a lawsuit over the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. “I don’t see anything different. If this district is going to take safety seriously, it needs to stand up to the governor.”
Others demanded that conditions remain the same.
“You should not mandate masks for the adults, because we’re already doing it,” said Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union. Fusco urged members to require masks for either both adults and students or for all individuals to decide for themselves whether to wear masks.
“Mandating is an insult,” Fusco said. “Have faith in the educators that have shown up through these tragedies and keep coming back.”
Rosalind Osgood, the School Board member for District 5, motioned to return to a plan suggested by Vice Chair Patricia Good to require masks for some adults. That proposal led to the policy change.
Cartwright told the Miami Herald that she trusts teachers “to be positive role models for our students” and wear masks. Still, she said, “With the current rate of spread and increasing amount of hospitalizations, I am concerned for our school community as well as the community as a whole.”
Private institutions are taking matters into their own hands given the rising number of COVID-19 cases. The University of Miami announced Wednesday it will launch the spring semester with remote-only courses for the first two weeks. University of Florida officials demand that masks be required on campus and mandate booster shots for students and faculty.
This story was originally published December 31, 2021 at 4:01 PM.
