Two nearby school districts have instated contrasting COVID policies this week.
Hoover City Schools are going mask-optional while Birmingham City Schools are strengthening their existing COVID guidelines. Failure to wear a mask in Birmingham City Schools is now a violation of their code of conduct.
Both districts currently have less than a 1 percent COVID positivity rate. Masks are also required on school buses in both districts by federal mandate.
Amy Mudano is Hoover City Schools’ Board of Education Vice President. She emphasized her district's declining COVID numbers before the vote on the mandate.
“I don’t think we need to be held hostage to this 1 percent,” Mudano said. “I really don’t. We’ve had, over the last three weeks, a 30 percent decline, a 60 percent decline, and another 60 percent decline given these numbers. So, I’m fine with dropping it.”
Both districts can alter their current COVID policies before the end of the semester.
Alan Paquette is another member of Hoover City Schools’ Board of Education. He emphasized the impact of mask wearing on young children before his district’s vote.
“I was in an elementary school last week. All along, I’ve been very concerned about our little folks. It was worse for them,” Paquette said. “I would love them to have a sense of normalcy as much as possible. Beyond even optional masking. If parents want to put a mask on their child, I think they should have the right to do that and we should respect that.”
Hoover City Schools educates over 13,000 students while Birmingham City Schools serves over 22,000.
