The Oregon-Davis School Board approved a reopening plan last week, but Superintendent Bill Bennett says it’s already had to be updated. “We now have a mandatory mask mandate, so that is one part of the plan that will be adjusted,” he explains. “We originally had strongly recommended, so we will now be wearing masks and taking them off when we can adhere to social distancing.”
Bennett says the lack of a mask mandate in the original plan led Board Member Brandie Ecker to cast the lone opposing vote. However, the Starke County Health Department soon after ordered the use of masks in all public buildings, including schools. The county has since decided to follow the state’s guidance, which makes masks optional for students younger than third grade and explicitly allows students to take off their masks in the classroom if they’re at least six feet apart.
Overall, Bennett says O-D’s reopening plan is very similar to those adopted by other local schools. “It was developed with our administrative team here at Oregon-Davis, as well as with guidance from the Indiana Department of Education as well as the Indiana [State Department of Health] as well as the local health department,” Bennett says.
Oregon-Davis has also delayed the start of school by three days to August 11.
