LAWTON – Public school officials are “treading tough waters” when faced with the controversial mask-wearing issue, COVID cases and finding a balance between healthy learning environments, Superintendent Kevin Hime said.
“The state wants us in a face-to-face learning situation, and that’s what we want to,” said Hime. “We’re trying to do everything in our power to facilitate that while ensuring the safety of our students and teachers.”
The district’s policy and state law prevents students who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 from attending school, which Hime said will impact learning and extracurricular activities such as athletics.
State law also prevents school districts from mandating masks in schools, which is a statute Hime isn’t willing to violate.
“When they (legislators) passed Senate Bill 658, it tied our hands and we have to obey that law,” he said. “There are advantages to wearing a mask and we can recommend it but if parents don’t want it, they (students) don’t have to. A mask mandate would help, but when you make a law it’s all or nothing.”
However, students at Freedom Elementary which is located within Fort Sill, are required to wear masks because the school is on a federal installation, said Lawton spokeswoman Lynn Cordes. All other Lawton Public School students have the option of wearing a mask. The number of students in a particular school varies on the grade level, she said.
“You can walk into any school, and you’ll see a different number of students wearing masks. We have no percentage of students who wear masks,” Cordes said.
Masks are a supplement to other preventative measures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are intended as an added layer of protection on top of social distancing and other common-sense protections like frequent handwashing, the use of hand sanitizer, and staying home when sick or experiencing symptoms of illness.
Lawton school officials are keeping track of the students diagnosed with COVID-19. Thirty-two students have reported a COVID-19 diagnosis with 26 active cases. In addition, nine staff members out of 2,000 employees have been diagnosed with the virus. No student or staff member deaths have been reported, Cordes said.
As of Aug. 24, three schools – Eisenhower Middle School, Freedom Elementary and Woodland Hills Elementary – had four active cases each among student populations, according to the district’s COVID-19 summary on its website. Although 32 COVID-19 cases have been reported, 70 students have been quarantined because of close contact, the summary shows.
Most Lawton students are too young to receive a COVID-19 vaccination currently. Teachers and staff members are not required to receive the vaccine.
“We’re asking them (teachers and staff) to do that if they can,” Cordes said.
If the need arises, Hime said the district is ready for full-scale virtual education based on last year’s experience.
“We know we can go virtual,” Hime said. “We are better prepared for it than before. Everyone is upbeat and positive about the school year. We have an employee shortage with bus drivers, subs and cooks. Some people just didn’t want to risk it this year. We feel lucky to have a great staff who are ready to educate our students.”
About 800 Lawton students have signed up for virtual classes compared to 5,000 last year after the COVID-19 surge hit, Cordes said.
“We still have all of our (educational) platforms that we had last year and we’re trying to be as flexible as last year,” she said. “We’re trying to keep our protocols in place as much as possible.”