One local parent is calling on School District 57 to make it mandatory for all students to wear masks in school.
In a presentation to the district board of education during a special meeting on Tuesday, Zoë Meletis called for the district to exceed the provincial public health orders put in place for schools and require all students to wear masks. Meletis said her eight-year-old daughter has been voluntarily wearing a mask at school since September, and wanted to start a petition calling for mandatory mask wearing.
Meletis said she had spoken with other parents in the district who were feeling the same.
"We don't want to pull kids out of school for safety," she said. "We don't want to have to choose between our children's education and wellness. We are one policy away from feeling safer."
The change wouldn't just make schools safer for students, but for teachers and school staff as well, she said.
Other jurisdictions, including Ontario, require all students to wear masks, Meletis said.
"Most kids already own masks and are comfortable wearing them," Meletis said.
In December the Prince George District Teachers' Association wrote an open letter to provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry asking for her to make masks mandatory in schools, and further reduce class sizes.
On Tuesday, PGDTA president Joanne Hapke told the board her four-year-old niece lives in Ontario and wears a mask to school every day.
Developments over the two-week winter break left many teachers apprehensive to return to classes on Monday, Hapke said.
"The discovery of a (more contagious) variant of COVID was not welcome news. The knowledge that families were travelling over the break, and are returning to school is concerning," Hapke said. "Once again we're returning to the unknown. Some teachers do not feel safe in schools."
Hapke said her comments didn't reflect the views of all 854 members of the association – a reference to a letter by a local teacher published in the Citizen – but represents the concerns raised by many local teachers.
In December there were 13 COVID-19 exposure events reported by Northern Health at School District 57 schools.
Hapke called on the board to consult with teachers, parents and staff, and conduct a review of the district's restart plan. The district's COVID-19 safety plan should be a "living document" that changes to reflect the current circumstances, she said.
District chairperson Trent Derrick said that because Tuesday's meeting was a special meeting with a limited agenda, any new motions by members of the board would have to wait to the next scheduled regular meeting on Jan. 26.
However, the school district is following the directives set out by the Ministry of Education and provincial health officials, Derrick said in a interview following the meeting.
"They are taking the lead on that," Derrick said. "When it comes to the mask request from the parents, we have to do that."
