By Steve Bittenbender
(The Center Square) – When the Kentucky General Assembly voted to do away with a statewide mask mandate for Kentucky public schools during a special legislative session last week, it chose to give local school leaders the option of maintaining masking policies. So far, a majority of the districts have decided to keep them for now.
As of Wednesday morning, 110 of the 171 public school districts in the state have decided to keep the policies in place, according to a running count maintained on social media by the Kentucky School Boards Association.
Among the latest districts to make that call was Grayson County Schools in central Kentucky 80 miles southwest of Louisville.
The county ranks 44th in population among the state’s 120 counties, with nearly 26,250 people. Still, according to data Tuesday from the New York Times, it averaged 60 new cases per day over the last week.
In a memo dated Tuesday to the district’s families and community, Superintendent Doug Robinson said school leaders’ decisions may not be popular or perfect. However, he said they’re made out of the best interests of everyone.
“Grayson County is currently firmly in red on the state incidence map,” Robinson said. “We are also, both alarmingly and sadly, one of the top 10 counties in the nation for COVID-19 infection.”
That ranking, according to New York Times data, was through Monday. On Tuesday, it ranked 23rd in the nation, with 225 new daily cases per 100,000 people. Of the 22 counties ahead of them, all but one were in either Kentucky or neighboring Tennessee.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear lost the ability to issue mask mandates thanks to a state Supreme Court ruling last month. Lawmakers opted against giving him that authority in the special session. However, he said in a tweet Wednesday, more schools need to implement mask orders.
“More school districts need to step up and do the right thing,” the governor said. “This virus is hitting our schools hard, with two workers lost in Lee Co., a teacher in Oldham (County) and a 15-year-old student in Shelby Co. in the last few weeks alone. Make the right decision – mask up in schools.”
A statewide order passed last month by the Kentucky Board of Education to cover public schools ends Sept. 17, thanks to the laws the General Assembly passed last week. That order coincided with a similar one the governor issued for all schools, including private schools, but he withdrew that after the Supreme Court ruled laws passed earlier this year to curb his authority were legal.
Later on Wednesday, the governor reported 5,398 new cases in the state. That’s the fourth-highest one-day total during the 18-month pandemic. He also announced 49 fatalities, with a 32-year-old and a 33-year-old among them.
