Kaneland school district to go ‘mask optional’ on Feb. 22 if COVID cases remain low

Kaneland School District 302 will become mask optional beginning Feb. 22 if its COVID-19 metrics remain at current levels, which are well below the peak in mid-January.

The Kaneland District 302 School Board unanimously passed the administration’s plan at the Feb. 14 board meeting, which took place virtually. Board President Teresa Witt said the meeting was moved to a remote format “out of an abundance of caution” after the Jan. 31 meeting was abruptly adjourned because some people in attendance refused to wear masks, which are required at meetings.

A group of about 50 parents gathered for a board meeting “watch party” in a private room at Obscurity Brewing & Craft Mead in Elburn.

During the virtual meeting, the school board agreed to a three-phased plan of mitigation changes that will be based on Kaneland’s weekly metrics.

Currently, no school within the district has a positivity rate greater than 1%. Based on the new policy, masking would be recommended, but not required at any of Kaneland’s schools this week, which are all in the green zone.

If positivity rates increase above 1.5%, which has been defined as the yellow zone, masking will be strongly encouraged, but not required. Universal masking will be required if the positivity rate reaches the red zone of 3% and higher.

The percentages will be measured Feb. 17 and reported to staff and families the next day. Going forward, school officials will record each building’s positivity rate every Thursday evening and will report that number to families on Friday. That number will be applied for the following week, so families can plan if the percentages rise and masks become required once again.

“We’re here tonight in this discussion because of the way the parents have behaved the last couple weeks with them protesting and telling their kids to come to school with no masks on,” board member Jennifer Simmons said. “We literally have 160 kids that have chosen to not wear a mask. We planned as a board on following the mandate until the mandate wasn’t there and then we were going to get into a discussion for what’s best for Kaneland. But we’re not there. We’re not even close to the governor making that change yet. We’re here now because of the behavior of our students and the behavior of the parents in our community, so we are having to pivot at this time.”

Some board members were concerned that if schools enter the red zone making masks required, some students wouldn’t comply.

With the assurance of Kaneland Superintendent Todd Leden that the district’s progressive disciplinary protocols will be followed if students don’t comply, including suspensions leading up to possible expulsions, the mitigation changes passed unanimously.

“I would like to think our Kaneland families are terrific and are awesome and they will come to school and they’ll wear masks and abide until the 22nd. That’s what I would hope,” Leden said. “I think that’s what Kaneland is, but if not, we’ll have the disciplinary policy set forth for the 22nd and we will begin that policy with progressive discipline.”

Moving forward, if any of the school’s buildings are in the red zone at the same time as a school board meeting, masks will be required by all attendees. The same will apply for after-school activities and athletics.

The district also will be ordering more high-quality masks to accommodate those who choose to wear them.