Nutley School Board Walks Back Letter Against Mask Mandate

NUTLEY, NJ — The Nutley Board of Education won’t be sending a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy opposing a face mask mandate in schools after all.

In a split decision and with a crowd of anti-masking critics in the audience, the board voted to draft a letter opposing the state’s mandate for schoolchildren on Aug. 23, TAP Into Nutley reported. However, during their Monday meeting, the board did an about-face and voted to rescind the letter to Murphy.

President Charles Kucinski said the decision was reached after the board spoke to community members, most of whom support a mask mandate. He also said that masks are a proven method of controlling the spread of the coronavirus, a position consistent with that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.

Watch a video of Monday’s meeting below. See the Nutley school district’s reopening plan and COVID-19 updates here.

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