Sycamore school superintendent gives mask update: ‘What a difference a couple of weeks makes’

SYCAMORE – Sycamore Superintendent Steve Wilder said since the district moved to an optional mask policy amid statewide changes to school pandemic-era mandates, no significant behavior issues have been reported.

During the Sycamore Community School District 427 board meeting Tuesday, Wilder said the subject of masking in schools has been a hot topic, compounded by the ever-changing state stipulations.

“So a lot of this got to be very confusing,” Wilder said.

Masks have been at the center of statewide debate this month since Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow issued a temporary restraining order on Gov. JB Pritzker’s school state’s mask mandate Feb. 4. Many, including the Sycamore and DeKalb school districts, left required masks in place since the districts weren’t named in the temporary restraining order.

The Illinois Attorney General’s office appealed the order Feb. 7. A state legislature committee voted against enforcing new emergency rules requiring masks in schools Feb. 15, spurring Sycamore schools to remove the required mask policy. And on Feb. 17, the state’s appellate court dismissed the attorney general’s appeal.

The back and forth at the state level gave way to a tense Sycamore school board meeting Feb. 8, where School Board President Jim Dombek told a largely masked crowd of hundreds – many of whom had come to speak to ongoing labor talks between the district and the Sycamore teachers union – that too many people were maskless, creating an unsafe environment. The board moved the meeting to a virtual setting that didn’t allow for public comment.

“What a difference a couple of weeks makes,” Wilder said.

According to Illinois Supreme Court documents, Pritzker and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed an appeal to the state appellate court’s dismissal Tuesday.

Sycamore schools now recommend masks but don’t require them, a policy incorporated by all districts in the county, including DeKalb, the last district to make the change.

Since then, Wilder said many Sycamore families voiced concerns about potential bullying among students based on choices to wear a mask or go without. The district also is no longer requiring students to quarantine if they’ve been directly exposed to COVID-19, or mandating proof of vaccination or weekly testing.

“We are still – and I want to be very clear about this – excluding students who are testing positive for COVID-19,” Wilder said.

Wilder said he hasn’t heard of any direct reports of disciplinary issues related to bullying surrounding masks, but said it’s possible it could occur among the district’s 3,600 students. He said district staff members are monitoring the possibility of behavior changes amid the mask change.

School board vice president Steve Nelson asked Wilder to provide regular updates on disciplinary issues so the district can be proactive about mitigating its effects.

“That’s two years that kids and staff and everybody has had to deal with this,” Nelson said. “We’re going into spring. It’s been a very long two years of mitigations.”

Wilder said the district has noted some behavioral issues throughout the pandemic among students.

Wilder said the district administration is reviewing when visitors will be allowed back in schools.

“If, for some reason, things tank … we will still continue to do what is best for our students and staff,” Wilder said. “But we’re not out of the pandemic quite yet. That’s something we have to continue to monitor.”