Kalkaska Public Schools has decided to go to universal masking in an attempt to keep up student attendance.
More than 200 students are currently quarantined due to COVID exposures.
The announcement came in a Facebook video Tuesday night from superintendent Rick Heitmeyer.
“In order to keep as many students in school as possible, it is necessary to reduce the number of quarantine cases,” he said. “The best way for us to achieve that is to require everyone to mask up. If students are masked appropriately and are exposed to COVID-19 they do not have to quarantine.”
This reverses the school’s decision earlier this year to make masks optional. The mandate does not apply to outside the school buildings.
“We’ve worked with District Health Department #10 [and] MDHHS and we’ve followed all of their guidelines and recommendations,” said Heitmeyer. “In addition, we consulted with our legal council in order to determine the best course of action for our students, staff, and families.”
The superintendent says the school will revisit the mask mandate in early October.
