Elmhurst 205 Yet To Reveal Mask Policy

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst School District 205 has yet to release its plan for face masks in the fall, but two board members suggested this week they be made optional.

Also, some members said they would be fine if the district ignored the state's guidance if it required the regular quarantining of students.

The board members spoke at a meeting Tuesday after they received the end-of-year report on how the pandemic affected students and staff. Board President Kara Caforio began the discussion by saying the district's goal should be to return its operations to normal, meaning like they were in 2019.

For members Courtenae Trautmann and Chris Kocinski, normalcy meant making masks optional. They also questioned the quarantining of students.

"Our statistics show that the definition of a high risk contact used to quarantine thousands of kids was flawed," he said. "Even if that continues to be the recommendation, I can't imagine myself being comfortable proceeding with those types of things."

Member Jim Collins said it sounded as if the board would support the administration if its pandemic-related policies contradicted state guidance, noting that it was guidance, not law.

Assistant Superintendent Kevin Rubenstein told the board that school districts have yet to receive clear guidance from the state on how to handle the pandemic in the fall. That guidance, he said, should come any day.

Board member Athena Arvanitis encouraged Rubenstein not to wait on the state before developing a plan. If the district waits, she said, it would end up racing to develop a plan by August.

Collins also pushed for the district to complete its plan.

"I think our community is hungering for some information sooner rather than later," he said.

Rubenstein said the administration's plan is coming together. He said officials are speaking with incoming Superintendent Keisha Campbell about it.

"I don't want to go any further than that," he said.

At a board meeting in late May, a number of parents urged the district to not require masks in the fall.