Pandemic response team to assess school mask mandate

Parents and community members rallied for an end to the school mask mandate at the Feb. 10 Haddonfield school’s board’s work session, just days after Gov. Phil Murphy  announced he will lift the mandate on March 7 and leave masking decisions to school districts going forward.

While some parents at the meeting argued for keeping masks out of consideration for kids who have yet to get a vaccine or are immunocompromised, many supported the governor’s move, invoking concerns for their children’s mental health and well-being. 

During his report, Superintendent Chuck Klaus noted that district COVID cases are down to four, a major decrease compared with the board’s last work session on Jan. 13,  when cases totaled more than 100. 

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gino Priolo explained that the pandemic response team had been anticipating the lifting of the mask mandate but will wait for formal guidance on a final decision. 

“One key piece of information that we’re still missing is updated guidance from the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH),” Priolo said. “For the past two years, we have most always followed the guidance from the NJDOH, so our guidance has not been finalized yet until we have the chance to review that.”

While the district mostly follows the guidance, Priolo said there were two instances of the district straying from that guidance: when it eliminated cohorts and went from the recommended 6 feet to 3 of social distancing, and when the district chose not to require a 14-day quarantine even as county COVID cases rose.

In both instances, Priolo said the decisions were made according to local data and the rate of transmission and were not made recklessly.

“We are committed to responsible normalcy to the greatest extent possible,” he added. “We understand the variety of implications, and balancing health precautions with the mental health of our students and our staff.”

Also during the meeting, Klaus unveiled long-range facility plans regarding a bond referendum in September 2023. One of the objectives would be to help convert some of the office and operational spaces in the schools to student-centered spaces. The timeline includes planning with a fiscal advisor and bond counsel in March and gathering stakeholder input from administrators, staff, students and the community from March to June.

The community can expect surveys and workshops in April at each building that will be moderated by the plan’s architects, LAN Associates in North Jersey. At the next board meeting on Feb. 24, Klaus and the firm will present a vision for the project.

“September ‘23 sounds like a long way away, but this is going to be on our table every single day for the next 15 to 18 months,” Klaus said. 

In other news:

• Haddonfield Memorial High School was certified at the Level 1 status by the National Federation of High Schools, attained by having at least 90 percent of the coaches voluntarily take courses on protecting students from abuse, cardiac arrest and concussion.
• The board received $12,000 from the Haddonfield Education Trust (HET) in the form of seven grants for seven district teachers to fund important projects outside the regular budget.  
• District Standardized Test Coordinator Sandra Horowitz gave a presentation on the 2021-2022 Start Strong assessment results. Students were tested on skills learned last year at the beginning of the year, including ELA (English Language Arts), math and science. The full presentation is available at www.haddonfieldschools.org. 

The next board of education meeting is Thursday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. in the high-school library.