Daniel Prince
Meeting expected to focus on masks for students
The Union County School Board has called a special meeting this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Room 600 at the Career and Technology Center. On the agenda is updates from the Superintendent, expected to be focused on COVID.
The board will take action on Policy ADD, dealing with face coverings. Back in early October, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals denied state Attorney General Alan Wilson’s request that SC’s law prohibiting mask mandates be allowed to take effect while a lawsuit over the measure goes forward. That ruling meant that districts could continue to put mask mandates into effect while the lawsuit continued. The state Supreme Court had previously ruled the measure constitutional, but a lawsuit was filed in federal court by parents of disabled children, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The school board lasted voted on masks back in August, when the board voted 5-3 against instituting a mask mandate, not wanting to go against the governor and risk state funding over the mandate. The school board has not revisited the issue until now.
Director of Administration Eric Childers put out a video last Friday strongly encouraging students to wear masks to cut down on the number of students who would have to be quarantined as close contacts of those testing positive for COVID.