The chair of Hamilton’s public school board says the entity’s latest indoor masking policy set for its learning facilities is not a “mandate” but a drive “encouraging” and “supporting” those opting in to get through a “respiratory illness crisis.”
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) lead Dawn Danko told Global News communication to families around what was decided is expected to go out this week along with an outline of what needs to be done to opt out.
A masking protocol was passed earlier this week by trustees calling for a temporary, indoor masking requirement in all schools, with allowances for students and staff to opt out.
The widely criticized motion brought some boisterous members of the public to the Monday night board meeting, with many opposing a masking initiative.
Prior to the vote that passed the masking requirement, onlookers sat through a detailed presentation outlining the efficacy of masks and heard Ontario’s chief medical officer and the city’s medical officer strongly encourage masks indoors.
“We don’t want to turn this into a divisive debate in our schools,” Danko said.
“We really want to make sure that those that are wearing masks are encouraged to do so and supported doing so, and those that cannot wear a mask or choosing not to wear masks are also respected in our schools.”
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The move to go ahead with the masking requirement comes just two weeks after the board strongly recommended students and staff mask indoors.
Danko said the board doesn’t have substantive data to confirm increases in student absences based on how the information is collected, but did say there has been an increase compared with last year, with a smaller increase in staff absences.
“So we’re observing … situations where half the class is away and hearing from families and students that it has a real impact … because oftentimes when people are getting sick, it’s not for a day or two. They’re off for a week,” Danko said.
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As of Wednesday, HWDSB staff are still working on how to operationalize the policy, with the board stipulating it wanted to execute it in a “supportive and non punitive way” to “preserve a positive culture” in schools.
“I would say our hope is that most students will wear masks, and we understand that part of our job is to communicate the why,” Danko explained.
The policy is expected to be in effect for the next two weeks before the holiday break and revisited at a board meeting in early January to decide on a renewal and potential end date.
“We will be looking at how are our hospitals doing, what are the levels of illness in our community that we can have an impact on with masking,” said Danko.
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