Point Beach To Look At Latest Data Before Making Mask Decision

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ – In the wake of the announcement made by Governor Phil Murphy on Monday to leave the decision for mandatory mask-wearing in schools up to the individual school districts, Point Pleasant Beach’s superintendent of schools William Smith said that the district would look at the latest local COVID data along with the latest guidelines before deciding on masks.

“I am confident that local agencies can work cooperatively to assess local COVID-19 data and scale health and safety measures accordingly,” Smith said.

“The significant increase in vaccinations among community members, staff, and some students puts us in a much better place this year to evaluate the need for masks on a local level based on the local rates of COVID transmission.”

Smith also said that he was happy that now the state feels that individual school districts like Point Pleasant Beach can decide what is best for their students.

“While the overarching message is that schools need to reopen in September for all students throughout the state, an equally significant message is permissible local control. We learned last year that a one-size-fits-all approach couldn’t effectively account for the infinite variability among school populations throughout the state,” Smith said.

“Point Pleasant Beach schools demonstrated last year that diligent adherence to recommended health and safety measures can keep staff and students healthy and school doors open for full-day in-person instruction.”