Brick Schools Relax In-School Mask Requirement In Hot Weather

BRICK, NJ — With temperatures and humidity soaring, Brick Township school district officials are making in-school masks optional for students and staff, the district announced Monday.

The announcement followed a tweet from Gov. Phil Murphy saying districts can make that decision in cases of extreme heat.

"School officials are empowered to relax masking among students and staff in their buildings given extreme weather conditions," Murphy tweeted, and added that the provision was one of the exceptions included in the executive order on masking in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brick Township Superintendent Thomas Farrell and school board President Stephanie Wohlrab had sent a letter to Murphy in late May urging him to put mask decisions back in the hands of local school authorities.

"Brick Schools has operated in compliance with all state mandates. However, Brick Schools now believes that we are at the point when the state masks mandate at schools should be responsibly re-evaluated and left up to local decision-making," the letter to Murphy said. Read more: Let Local Districts Make Mask Choices, Brick Schools Urge Murphy

In addition to making masks optional for students and staff, the district said it would be turning on air conditioners in all classrooms and offices that are equipped with them, after consulting with the Ocean County Health Department and reviewing current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control. Using air conditioners in schools had been prohibited because of concerns of spreading the coronavirus.

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