Wayne Residents Oppose Attempt To Revoke School Mask Mandate

WAYNE, NJ — The Board of Education recently affirmed the idea that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, announcing that after multiple protests against a mask mandate in schools that they would send a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy, asking him to reverse course.

Now, a group of residents are putting the theory to the test again, this time starting a petition in support of the mandate.

All of this comes after a persistent group of parents became active in protesting before, and speaking during, recent Board of Education meetings, pushing for the mandate to be revoked.

The Board of Education doesn't have the power to do that, as it was instituted by Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this summer.

However, the Board voted by a measure of 4-3 at their last meeting to write to the governor, asking that he revoke the mandate, reversing his executive order as community COVID-19 transmission remains "high" in Passaic County, and most of the state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Superintendent Mark Toback confirmed the vote to Patch in an email on Friday, but said "at this point, I would say that it is unclear about exactly what will happen."

Toback said that although the board agreed to write the letter after some discussion, its members will still need to agree on the content of it and eventually vote to send it to the governor.

"The process would involve another meeting where the BOE would be able to further discuss the letter," Toback added.

Here's what the masking protocol in Wayne schools looks like, as was presented at the latest meeting:

In the meantime, an online petition has been started by residents of the township who belief masking is the best way to keep students in the classroom during the upcoming school year. Nearly 700 people have signed, as of Monday morning.

The petition reads:

"During COVID-19 pandemic, Wayne children and families have struggled with changing school environments, particularly closures that left students with no option but virtual learning. Despite the best efforts of our hardworking Wayne teachers and staff, evidence is mounting that school closures and limited in-person learning have a serious impact on the learning and social development of children and adolescents. We believe that mandatory masking for students, teachers, staff, and visitors to our public schools, as required by Executive Order 251, is a critical part of a layered prevention strategy to ensure that Wayne students can attend school in person."

Though the petition officially establishes an oppositional force to those who've organized protests, neither group has any actual decision-making power in the matter.

That power lies solely with the governor, who has given no indication that he'd consider reversing course. In fact, Murphy took an extra step this week, requiring that New Jersey school teachers and staff, as well as state employees, must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 18

This comes after the governor recently signed an executive order stating that all pre-K-12 school personnel must be vaccinated or undergo regular testing for COVID-19 at least once or twice a week.

"As the school year rapidly approaches, we are continuing to do all that we can to ensure as safe a start as possible," Murphy said. "We know that strong masking and vaccination protocols in tandem with other safety measures are our best consolidated tool for keeping our schools open for full-time in-person instruction and our educational communities safe."

So as it stands currently — and is likely to remain — masks will be worn by students and staff in the classroom this year, petitions, protests or otherwise.

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