Manalapan-Englishtown: Face Masks Now Optional For All Students

MONMOUTH COUNTY - A Tuesday night Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Schools Board of Education meeting resulted in the board placing soon-to-be-retired superintendent John Marciante Jr. on administrative leave after he stated that he opts not to make face masks optional in the classroom, despite parent protests.

In a survey issued last week by the district, an overwhelming majority of the 2,000 total responses asked for optional mask wearing in the school district, according to News12.

Per a message to parents from the incoming superintendent Dr. Nicole Santora posted to the school website, Marciante stated that he would follow the state’s guidelines to make exceptions for mask removal in extreme heat, but would not vote to make masks optional for vaccinated students and staff - thus leading to his voluntary leave in order to pass the optional masking motion.

“Upon Dr. Marciante's recommendation, in an effort to give the community what the majority had voted for on the survey, the Board of Education placed Dr. Marciante on administrative leave effective immediately through 3:00 PM on June 22, 2021,” Santora wrote.

As a result, the board has made a motion to revise the district’s masking policy to make face coverings optional for all students - including unvaccinated ones - at parents’ discretion. Vaccinated staff will be allowed to drop their masks inside the school buildings with proof, according to the letter.

This policy is effective immediately until June 22, the end of the school year. Marciante is set to retire June 30. Read more: Dr. Nicole Santora Named New Manalapan-Englishtown Superintendent

Read Santora’s full letter here.