During a special board meeting last night, the Geneva School Board put forth a revised plan that requires masking by all students, teachers, staff and visitors in Geneva schools.
Interestingly, though, the board deferred taking a full vote on the plan until its next meeting on August 9.
The masking issue has created significant controversy in the district, and it is likely that the board’s about-face in the wake of new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance issued last week will spur further dissent.
Previously the board had taken the position that masks would be recommended but optional. The new guidance from the CDC – which reversed guidance given only 18 days before – changed the calculus.
Perhaps the largest driving factor in the board’s decision-making is the potential threat of legal and financial liability raised by not following the CDC’s guidance – guidance that was immediately affirmed at the state level by the Illinois State Board of Education.
Both St. Charles and Batavia school boards are expected to announce potentially revised masking policies in the coming week.
