ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County school board members discussed ideas to improve coronavirus safety protocols for hours during a meeting Thursday.
The discussion comes as the district has reported more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 among staff and students since school started.
READ: Here’s how to track COVID-19 cases in your child’s school district
Among the biggest concerns and dilemmas for board members were policies they felt honor the rights of some parents but take them from others.
From the driver shortage and students crammed into bus seats to reporting procedures and complaints of quarantine lag-times, Orange County school board members expressed frustrations at what they see as having their hands tied by conflicting state directives against following CDC guidelines, specifically when a COVID-19 positive child can return to school.
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“This is extremely confusing... I do have a lot of parents very upset,” board member Linda Kobert said.
Reinstating a universal mask mandate was supported by several board members who see the latest federal backing and guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics as critical protection.
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Some members want to see a stronger mask mandate immediately, while Board Chair Teresa Jacobs leaned toward a legal challenge to ensure their action is on solid ground.
“Our responsibility isn’t to look good, it’s to do good. we have to have a very clear compelling case,” Jacobs said.
READ: Quarantining students lead to school disruption for thousands in Central Florida
District legal counsel was directed to explore any options they can find to possibly challenge the state and to share those with the members.
The face mask conversation is expected to continue in the next board meeting Tuesday since it’s open to the public.
