Mask usage is now optional in some settings for USD 251 North Lyon County after a special board meeting Monday night.
The board approved a change so masks are needed on buses, in school hallways and in school classrooms where social distancing can’t be maintained. In all other settings, however, mask usage is now optional effective Wednesday. Superintendent Bob Blair says it’s a relief to get to this point.
The adjustment followed a motion by board member Tammie Reed to make masks optional, regardless of the ability to maintain social distancing spaces. It failed on a 3-3 tie vote.
Blair says the decision results from the Kansas Legislature’s decision to give school boards the ultimate authority on COVID-19 response, Lyon County’s decision last week to shift the mask mandate to a mask recommendation and little to no COVID-19 traffic in the district over the past month.
Blair says there will be little to no changes in the physical layout at North Lyon County Elementary-Junior High or Northern Heights, but there will be a lot of discussions to clarify the new policy Tuesday.
