Genoa-Kingston school board to comply with state mask mandate, approves test-to-stay policy

GENOA – With Gov. JB Pritzker’s universal indoor mask mandate in schools superseding local authority, Genoa-Kingston School District 424 officials said they plan to enforce the mandate with “a good faith effort” with the DeKalb County Health Department.

After the majority of district parents expressed their opposition to the state mandate during this week’s school board meeting, Genoa-Kingston school board president Matthew Krueger said he spoke with the school district’s attorney, local health department officials and did his own research. He said he shares “a lot of the same thoughts” with parents expressing a desire for an optional mask policy instead.

“The thing that I think is important is I want to have less quarantines, less interruptions, more in-person ... classes, and more in extracurricular activities,” Krueger said.

Krueger’s comments came after the school district faced mass-quarantining orders from the local health department throughout the previous school year, namely within its athletics program.

School board members also agreed it was important to make sure mask breaks are worked into lesson planning this year, whether students are outdoors or inside at least 6 feet apart from each other.

District Superintendent Brent O’Daniell said he consulted with building principals and confirmed every classroom will have at least 3 feet of separation for all of the desks.

“We have all committed to try to find as many ways to give the students as well as the teachers a break with a mask, whether it’s going outside, creating six feet of distance for five minutes and giving them a break,” O’Daniell said. “We have committed to continue the hand washing, good sanitation and updating of the HVAC as it continues on.”

O’Daniell said he understands parents’ concerns about their children wearing masks, adding he doesn’t like wearing it, either.

“But we have to have order in order to secure the educational environment,” O’Daniell said.

The Genoa-Kingston school board, like Sycamore schools, previously voted unanimously to approve a recommended mask policy for its buildings.

The school district stated during the Tuesday meeting that Pritzker’s universal indoor mask mandate in schools will supersede local authority.

Krueger said the risks of defying the governor’s mandate include the Illinois State Board of Education reducing funding and insurance liability concerns. However, he said his main concern was working with the county’s health department.

“Because as far as I’m concerned, the local health department has the most teeth with … enforcement,” Krueger said.

Krueger said he has a daughter who plays volleyball at Genoa-Kingston High School. He said if the district defies universal masking, it could have ripple impacts on athletics, too, including needing to quarantine whole teams.

Test-to-stay policy

In order to provide school nurses with clear contact-tracing protocol when COVID-19 cases are identified during the school year, the school board voted, 6-0, to approve a pilot policy that will allow students to “test to stay,” meaning if exposed, they’ll be offered the option to test for the virus and, if they test negative, they won’t have to quarantine for two weeks.

If the district follows the universal mask mandate so they can implement a test-to-stay policy, Krueger said he feels “like we have a greater chance for less quarantines.”

O’Daniell said if the health department honors the test-to-stay option, students and staff would take the BinaxNOW rapid test with a simple nasal swab. If the district is going to honor the governor’s mandate, though, he said school officials can’t “allow people to just not do it.”

“As long as they put a good faith effort into it, then we’ll work with them as much as we can,” O’Daniell said.

O’Daniell said school officials will ask students who come to school without a mask to put one on and schools will have some they can provide to students if needed. If the student refuses to comply, he said, they will be asked to leave or the school will ask their parents to come get them.

But a student not wearing a mask correctly once is not going to result in immediate discipline, O’Daniell said.

“I don’t want anybody in the room or anybody online to think the first time a student’s mask slips down under their nose that they’re going to detention or we’re going to suspend them,” O’Daniell said. “Because we’re not. That’s not it.”

The first day of school for Genoa-Kingston district students is Monday.