School Mask Mandates Will Expire In Greenfield After July

GREENFIELD, WI — The Greenfield School District moved to let its mask mandate for students expire at Monday's School Board meeting. The mandate will expire July 31.

Katie Kuchenreuther, the digital media coordinator for the district, told Patch that beginning August 1, masks will be recommended for all, but not required.

Because children aged 5-11 are not eligible for the vaccine, masks will be highly encouraged for students at those grade levels, Kuchenreuther said.

"Our schools will continue to support students through the pandemic and will create mask friendly environments," Kuchenreuther said.

At the meeting, the board did not consider this be-all-end-all decision. The board said it will have to be flexible and responsive to new pandemic situations as they arise.

Related: Most Greenfield Residents Vaccinated: Wisconsin Vaccine Rates

The news comes just as the CDC decided to revise its guidance in light of the recent surge of the delta variant. The federal agency now recommends that all people wear masks in schools and in areas of medium or high case loads.

With a vaccination rate of over 60 percent, many Greenfield residents are shielded against COVID-19 and the more recent delta variant.

The district will transition from requiring, to recommending masks for all unvaccinated people indoors. School buses will still require masks, per federal law. The district will attempt to create a "mask friendly" environment in the schools, and the district's COVID-19 dashboard will be updated twice a week, according to the Superintendent Lisa Elliott's presentation on mask mandates.

Children under 12-years-old are still not eligible for the vaccine.

Mitigation measures that the district will continue include: three feet of physical distancing between students when possible, encouragement of good hand hygiene, HVAC systems to filter air, monitoring of COVID-19 symptoms and a regularly updated case dashboard.

Some parents reacted positively to the news that masks will no longer be required, though.

"That was great, because that's what our country is based on, freedom and the freedom to choose," one parent, Todd Beauchamp, told TMJ4 TV News Station

The district will continue to monitor case loads and will revise the mandate if needed.