Brick Schools Will Be Mask Optional When NJ Mandate Lifts, Superintendent Says

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township Schools officials will finally get their wish when New Jersey's mask mandate for schools is lifted March 7: the ability to decide on the local level what is best for the district's students.

That decision will be to make masks optional, a district official said Monday

Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday announced his intention to end the mandate, citing a continuing decline in statewide COVID-19 illnesses and infections.

"We have reached a point where we feel confident that we can take another step toward normalcy for our kids," Murphy said. "Given the continued drop in new cases and hospitalizations, projections indicating a continued decline over the coming weeks, and the continued growth of vaccinations for our school-aged population, we believe that we can responsibly end the universal mask mandate." Read more: Schools Can Extend Mask Mandate, But NJ Requirement Ends In March

Murphy also said he will sign an executive order extending the public health emergency declared Jan. 11 for another 30 days, into March. That "allows the state to continue vaccine distribution, vaccination or testing requirements in certain settings, the collection of COVID-19 data, implementation of any applicable recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent or limit the transmission of COVID-19, staffing and resource allocation, and other critical components of the State’s COVID-19 response," Murphy's announcement said.

The announcement said school districts and childcare facilities can continue to require masks after the mandate is lifted on March 7, but school districts cannot bar anyone from wearing masks.

Brick Township Schools will not be requiring them.

"Having not received a formal announcement as guidance, but hearing the Governor's message, Brick Schools would anticipate going to 'mask optional' come March 7th, as per the Governor's announcement," Superintendent Thomas Farrell said Monday.

The district has been pushing for Murphy to allow districts to decide for themselves what was best since last spring, when COVID-19 vaccinations were under way and the infection rate was slowing.

"School districts in New Jersey are operated by locally elected school boards and superintendents working together with district stakeholders," Brick Township school board president Stephanie Wohlrab said last May in a letter to Murphy that was shared with the community. "It is time to once again let us do what we were elected to do, with our highly trained, professional staff in place – run our districts with the authority to make decisions in the best interest of our community." Read more: Let Local Districts Make Mask Choices, Brick Schools Urge Murphy

In August, after Murphy signed Executive Order 251 continuing the mask requirement for the fall, Wohlrab and the district sent another letter urging a return to local control, calling the continuing mandate unrealistic and unjust. Read more: Mask Rules Should Be A Local Decision, Brick School Board Again Tells Murphy

Wohlrab said the issue wasn't the masks themselves, as the district has parents who support masks in school as well as the parents who want the choice of whether to mask their children.

"(Murphy's) taking away parents' rights and voice at the local level," she said.

Murphy allowed districts some leeway in the late spring and the early fall when summer temperatures made classrooms that lack air conditioning unbearably hot. But that was a temporary measure that only fueled the debate over the masks.

State health officials said guidance will be released to school districts before the mandate is lifted "to help school districts update their policies to align with the risks and unique needs of their setting and student population to ensure safe learning environments."

"The Department will develop guidance that incorporates all aspects of safety in schools while children are unmasked," Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said. "We know that every parent wants to do what’s best for their children."

Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters here, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Brick Patch on Facebook.