Vanderburgh parents' feelings about mask requirements remain mixed amid COVID spike
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The adoption of increased COVID-19 safety measures in Evansville schools is growing more likely even as parents remain split about mask mandates.
Last week EVSC Superintendent David Smith said in a podcast that additional safety steps may already be needed to avoid switching from in-person to virtual learning.
The state's weekly update on COVID cases reported by schools will be released Monday.
But it's not clear whether data will change many parents' minds about the right path forward. Amid rising school and community case numbers in recent weeks, some parents are questioning whether masks serve any purpose while others support mandatory masking and want to see it enforced better.
Lynn Maserejian is parent to students at both North Junior High School and Signature School, both of which require masks indoors at all times. She approves of EVSC's COVID-19 policies.
"I think they are handling it well. I think that mask breaks are fine as long as they are six feet apart," she said. "No, wearing masks doesn't prevent (COVID) 100 percent but it slows it down. I am a nurse, and hospital and medical employees have been wearing masks since March 2020, when this began. Cases have been low among the staff."
Maserejian said she feels there is room for improvement, though.
"My daughter has expressed some concerns that a lot of kids are wearing their masks pulled down from their noses and mouths when they are passing between classes," she said. "So I think EVSC could monitor that a little better."
She said Signature School does not allow mask breaks, requiring masks to be up at all times while indoors.
"They have done very well with it," Maserejian said.
Parent Erik Varden said his child's fifth-grade class at Daniel Wertz Elementary School is quarantined until Sept. 1 because one student had COVID-19.
He said he understands that EVSC officials are doing what they believe necessary requiring masks worn indoors at all times, but he disagrees with the policy.
"When masks were recommended, I thought I could be OK with that," Varden said. "But when they switched to requiring them all the time, I don't agree with that."
He noted that EVSC students are allowed to have "mask breaks" during which a few students can remove masks for a short period of time when they are spaced six feet apart.
"If masks work, then taking them off at all should be dangerous. I absolutely believe they are not necessary," Varden said.
But less than a month into the start of the EVSC's 2021-22 school year, the superintendent sees a lot of reason for concern.
"When we played our first football game last year, the number of positive cases surrounding that week were 130," Smith said in a recent podcast. "This year when we played our first football game in Vanderburgh County, the number of cases in that week added up to 1,079 — quite an increase."
More than two-thirds of Evansville public schools reported COVID-19 cases to the state last week. High schools in the Evansville Vanderburgh and Warrick County school corporations appeared to be experiencing the worst part of the cases.
Five of six Evansville high schools reported COVID-19 cases, with Reitz reporting 10 and North reporting 6, the only two EVSC schools to report more than five cases for the week ending Aug. 23.
More:Vanderburgh remains in orange, other counties in red as COVID cases keep rising
In Warrick County, Tecumseh and Castle high schools each reported nine cases and Boonville High School seven cases. John H. Castle Elementary School in Newburgh reported nine positive cases and Boonville Middle School seven cases.
Exact cases are difficult to determine at some schools because the Indiana State Department of Health does not report exact numbers when there are five or fewer cases.
Additionally, the numbers reported on the ISDH COVID-19 dashboard each week only represent what was reported by the school.
Still, the dashboard numbers represent the only school case counts most parents are likely to find because most school districts, including the EVSC, have remained quiet about actual their numbers of cases and quarantines throughout the pandemic.
More:How the pandemic continues to impact high school football in Southwestern Indiana
The Warrick County School Corporation has not made any plans to lift its current indoor mask requirement, said Director of Human Resources Doug Gresham.
He said requiring students to wear masks at all times indoors is helping reduce the number of close contacts who must be quarantined. State guidelines allow schools to keep students three feet apart from one another if wearing masks and facing forward.
"It is amazing how many fewer students are having to stay home this year," Gresham said. "Most of the positive cases being reported are with zero or one or two close contact. Last year, in some cases we were seeing close contacts in the upper teens or even twenties."
Mark Wilson covers education and environment at the Courier & Press. He would love to hear from parents about COVID-19 or other concerns and can be contacted at mark.wilson@courierpress.com or (812) 431-1147.