North Hills students, staff required to wear masks for return to classes
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The 4,700 students in the North Hills School District returned to classes for the fall semester on Wednesday for full, face-to-face instruction with a requirement that all staff and pupils wear face coverings until the county’s covid-19 transmission rate dips.
Students began arriving at the high school as the sun began to rise and were greeted by members of the high school marching band, who serenaded them with upbeat tunes as they entered the building.
“I’m glad we have our kids here and I’m really excited for the Class of 2022,” said Superintendent Pat Mannarino, who was out greeting students as they arrived.
The district reinstated the mask requirement in response to the recent increase in covid-19 transmission rates in Allegheny County.
That decision, which was approved on Aug. 17 by a 6-3 vote, came after the board repeatedly failed to approve a Health and Safety Plan for the 2021-22 school year during its Aug. 5 meeting that only recommended students wear masks and left the final decision to parents.
School Directors Dee Spade, Katie Poniatowski and Rachael Rennebeck voted against the measure.
The revised policy approved by the board that requires masks also contains a provision for mandate to be relaxed or lifted based on changes in the county’s transmission rate.
The new policy requires masks for all students and staff while they are indoors when the county’s transmission rate is at the “substantial” or “high” level.
Allegheny, Westmoreland and several surrounding counties are currently at a high level of covid-19 transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC defines a “high” covid-19 transmission level as more than 100 cases per 100,000 people or a 10% positivity rate in a particular county over seven days.
If the county’s transmission rate drops to a “moderate” transmission rate, only unvaccinated people will be required to wear masks.
After the mask policy was approved, board president Allison Mathis acknowledged that while wearing masks can be uncomfortable and cumbersome, the requirement was imposed because returning to in-person learning “is the most important common district goal” that could only be achieved if measures are taken to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Mathis also cited guidance from the Allegheny Health Department that students who wear masks and remain between 3- and 6-feet apart would not have to be quarantined if they come into contact with a person who has tested positive for covid-19.
In addition to requiring masks, the district’s health and safety plan contains a number of measures instituted last year to help slow the spread of the virus including keeping people apart and more frequent cleaning and sanitizing of surfaces.