At a special meeting Monday morning, Flagstaff Unified School District’s (FUSD) board voted to encourage rather than require masks at district locations, including in transportation. The move was in response to the Feb. 25 update to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance that adjusted the metrics used to determine community transmission levels for COVID-19.
Those on district property may now “choose to wear a mask at any time and to their comfort level,” according to the motion, which specifies that those decisions “should be supported and respected.”
Masks will continue to be required at Leupp Elementary, as the Navajo Nation’s public health emergency order is still in effect.
“FUSD has consistently aligned its COVID-19 health information with the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and Coconino County indicators and thresholds based on guidance from the CDC,” district superintendent Michael Penca said in the meeting. “Improving health conditions, the individual and collective efforts to keep each other safe and this new guidance allow us an opportunity to be agile with its new mitigation strategies.”
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The board voted 3-2 to approve the motion, with the same division as last week’s meeting (board president Carol Haden and members Anne Dunno and Carole Gilmore for and members Christine Fredericks and Dorothy Denetsosie Gishie against).
“I am still concerned in particular that we’ve not heard any definitive information from the reservation,” Fredericks said. “…About all I can say is I’m torn. I understand that we’ve agreed to go with the CDC recommendations, but we still have neighbors who are doing things a little differently.”
The requirement is not set to go back into effect should the county move to a high transmission level, though masks will be recommended. Penca said this is in part to honor the board’s previous action, which set an end date of March 21, regardless of transmission and in part because it would be “unmanageable” to base district policy on the county’s weekly updates.
Doing so would “present challenges for us to implement and manage,” Penca said. “…It’s, I believe, unmanageable, puts our staff in a very difficult and sometimes unsafe situation.”
Penca said at the meeting that FUSD would communicate this change to families, students and staff “as soon as possible.” Communications over the weekend had “asked for patience and kindness while we’re in this transition,” he said.
The board had set an end date of March 21 for its mask requirement at its Feb. 22 meeting, with the potential for it to end earlier, should the district move into the moderate or low transmission levels. Coconino County’s schools report released Friday morning showed FUSD had a high case rate (156 per 100,000) and a substantial positivity yield (8.6%), with both decreasing from the previous week.
According to the new metrics, Coconino County currently has a medium transmission level.
Coconino County plans to follow the updated CDC guidance, including changing its reporting, according to its Health and Human Services Department’s (CCHHS) announcement of the change.
The new system focuses on “meaningful consequences such as hospitalizations, severe illness and deaths,” CCCHS director Kim Musselman said. It also aligns recommendations for schools with other community settings.
“It is important that we adjust our approach to COVID-19 as the situation changes,” Musselman said in the announcement. “More people are vaccinated now and COVID-19 cases are declining. It makes sense to modify the metrics based on the current circumstances. …This is an exciting moment in our battle against COVID-19, but we will remain vigilant and nimble, should the circumstances change.”
The recommended guidelines for counties at the medium level are to stay up-to-date with vaccines (including boosters), get tested when symptomatic and for those at high risk for severe illness to consult a healthcare provider about precautions, including masking.
The new guidance uses three metrics to determine transmission: the rate of cases and hospitalizations and the percentage of staffed in-patient beds occupied by COVID patients. All are measured on a weekly basis and the overall transmission level can be either high, medium or low.
Counties that have low or medium transmission levels “can consider going without masks in public indoor settings,” according to Coconino County’s announcement of this update, although “…people with symptoms, a positive test or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask regardless of community level.” Masks are recommended for areas at the high transmission level.
“I think this is a big change for a lot of people, or will be, and I would very much like to know that schools have even more avenues to report if they wish to. …I would feel better if there was support everywhere throughout the community,” Gilmore said.
Penca said bullying, harassment or intimidation related to masking would be handled according to district policy.
“We want that to be reported and that would be followed up on,” he said. “…We want to respect the choices of individuals to either wear a mask or not wear a mask, that’s expected.”
“The individual and collective mitigation efforts which have contributed to the improving COVID-19 health conditions in our local communities are commendable and this is a good step that we have been working towards,” Penca said. “FUSD continues to encourage all members of our school community to participate in free COVID-19 vaccines and testing opportunities and, while this is an exciting moment of this pandemic, to maintain self-care and remain agile in case circumstances change.”
FUSD has said it plans to update its mitigation plan and metrics in its next board meeting, which is scheduled for March 8.
