North Hills School District To Try Again On Mask Policy

ROSS TOWNSHIP, PA — With time running short before the start of the 2021-22 school year, North Hills School District still does not have a health and safety plan addressing mask requirements in place. A lengthy school board meeting Thursday was suspended and will resume Aug. 17.

Classes begin on Aug. 25. The district must file a plan with the state by Sept. 1.

The proposed plan that was voted down during a meeting Thursday strongly recommended masks for all students but ultimately left the choice to parents.

Five motions to amend the plan also failed. According to a district release, they included requiring masks for all students and staff in elementary schools, all students and staff in grades K-12 and
other combinations based on Allegheny County’s level of community transmission.

Board president Allison Mathis in a Facebook post Friday attributed the lack of an agreement to school directors not meeting over the summer and mask recommendations by government agencies recently changing.

"I'm not asking for sympathy, but for patience," Mathis said. "I have respect for all opinions on the board and for all my colleagues who have been forced to make difficult choices over the past 18 months. Let me be clear — what you saw last night was transparency and disagreement, not the inability to make a decision."

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