Bridgewater Mayor Urges School District To Lift Mask Mandate

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench is urging the township school district to follow the state's lead and lift mask mandates.

"It has been far too long that parents, kids, and educators have been denied the right to choose what is best for their family's health and for the education of our most precious resource, our children, while in the school setting," said Moench in a letter to the district. "As the Mayor of Bridgewater and, more importantly, a father of three children in the district, I strongly encourage this body to not institute a mask mandate in our schools and to restore that autonomy to the individuals of our area as soon as allowable."

On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced New Jersey will be dropping its statewide school mask mandate on March 7 but Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School Superintendent Dr. Robert Beers said he will take time to decide what to do for when that date arrives.

"I am looking forward to the updated guidance from the [New Jersey Department of Health] and [New Jersey Department of Education," School Superintendent Dr. Robert Beers. "At this point, I will analyze multiple factors and make recommendations to the board of education. I am hopeful districts will also receive updated guidance relative to contact tracing and quarantine."

Moench noted that previously the district did not have control of certain decisions including masks in schools.

"However, it now appears that the authority to make one crucial decision regarding the response to the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be back where it belongs: in our own community," said Moench.

The Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School Board will host a meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Media Center of the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School.

See Moench's full letter below:

First and foremost, thank you all for your service to the Bridgewater/Raritan community. As at every level of government, you leaders in the school district have faced intense scrutiny and made many difficult decisions over the past two years. The circumstances surrounding these decisions have, unfortunately, for the most part, been out of your control. However, it now appears that the authority to make one crucial decision regarding the response to the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be back where it belongs: in our own community.

With the news that Governor Murphy has finally decided to lift the school mask mandate in March, I am writing to you to urge you to return the freedom of choice to the parents, kids, and educators of the Bridgewater-Raritan School District.

It has been far too long that parents, kids, and educators have been denied the right to choose what is best for their family's health and for the education of our most precious resource, our children, while in the school setting. As the Mayor of Bridgewater and, more importantly, a father of three children in the district, I strongly encourage this body to not institute a mask mandate in our schools and to restore that autonomy to the individuals of our area as soon as allowable.