First Day Of 'Mask Choice' In Vernon Schools Shows No Preference

VERNON, CT — Day 1 of mask choice went on in Vernon's schools Monday basically without a hitch, Superintendent of Schools Joseph Macary said.

Monday marked the final day of the universal education mask policy adopted via an executive order put in place by Gov. Ned Lamont. Local school officials decided to leave it up the parents and students to decide.

Macary said he made two "very unscientific" observations in visits to schools Monday. At Rockville High School, it was about a 50-50 ratio between masks on and masks off throughout the building, he said. At Vernon Center Middle School , about 80 percent of the teachers had no masks and about 80 percent of the students had one on, he said.

Patch noticed a 50-50 ratio at RHS during the morning drop off and an overwhelming majority of students seemed to be wearing masks while exiting toward the pick-up area and student lot.

"There was nothing definitive," Macary said. "But it's a decision parents and students can now make on their own and we're OK with that.

Macary said, that, as of an hour after the final school dismissed in town, he had received no parental complaints.

No statistics were compiled for students on buses.

On Feb. 7, Lamont announced that he was endorsing a plan developed in consultation with Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani and Connecticut State Department of Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker to eliminate the statewide requirement that was in effect as part of Connecticut's coronavirus safety protocols for masks to be worn in all schools and childcare centers effective Monday.

The plan allows the determination on whether to require masks in these locations to be made at the local level.

"Connecticut is seeing a dramatic decline in cases caused by the Omicron variant, and children over the age of 5 have had the ability to get vaccinated for more than three months now," Lamont said "With this in mind, I think we are in a good position to phase out the requirement that masks be worn in all schools statewide and shift the determination on whether to require this to the local level."