Toms River Schools Starting Year Mask-Optional In Expected Heat

TOMS RIVER, NJ — When classes begin Wednesday in the Toms River Regional Schools, students and staff will have the option of whether to wear masks as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the school district said.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced in August that masks would be required in schools at the start of the 2021-22 school year due to increasing spread of the coronavirus in New Jersey and the rising prevalence of the delta variant.

Murphy's executive order requiring masks, however, includes several exceptions, among them an allowance for schools to make mask-wearing optional in excessive heat situations.

Toms River school officials chose to exercise that option for this week.

In an email to parents that was shared with Patch, the district said, "In looking ahead toward the anticipated weather forecast for the first week of school — Wednesday, Sept. 8 through Friday, Sept. 10 — and in accordance with exceptions outlined in Executive Order 251 (EO 251), due to the projected excessive heat inside of our buildings and on buses, the wearing of masks in non-air-conditioned spaces, while still recommended, will be optional. This includes buildings where air conditioning is available but possibly not fully functional in all locations."

Interim Superintendent Stephen Genco, in a letter posted on the district's website, said the district would make those decisions as needed.

"Our leadership team — in consultation with our community partners and health experts — is doing our best to be reactive in response to ever-evolving guidance; proactive by anticipating the needs and interests of our school community in developing our plan heading into the year; flexible in making that plan fluid; and transparent in communicating our plan properly," he wrote.

The Brick Township Schools and the Lacey Township School District have made similar decisions, those districts announced.

The Toms River school board has been bombarded at meetings over the summer from parents screaming and yelling at the board, demanding it reject masks for students. Toms River school board president Joseph Nardini in August sent a letter to Murphy urging him to leave the mask decision to local districts, but the district has steadfastly said it will follow the mandates, which infuriated those who demanded the board ignore the mandates.

Parents who support masking in school have been quieter, but have said they are concerned about the risks from the decision to make masks optional.

The Accuweather forecast for the rest of the week is predicting temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s.

Ocean County and all of the Central Jersey East region has "high" COVID-19 activity, according to the New Jersey Department of Health's latest weekly report. The region has the third-highest case rate in the state at 19.44 cases per 100,000 and a 6.31 percent positivity rate.

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