Toms River School Board Urges Murphy To End In-School Mask Rule

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional Board of Education has asked Gov. Phil Murphy to remove a mask mandate when students and staff return to school in September.

Citing the district's efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and its efforts to vaccinate staff members against COVID-19, a letter from the board signed by President Joseph Nardini urges Murphy to drop the mandate for September.

"It's our community's adherence to health and safety measures which prompts this reasoned request," Nardini wrote. "We've worked alongside our partners at RWJBarnabas Health to vaccinate our teachers, staff, and even students. We’ve consulted with the Ocean County Health Department and followed all state guidance throughout this pandemic."

"We’ve gone above and beyond with measures including desk dividers, additional PPE, air purifiers and, of course, a mask mandate. We even installed a Covid Counter for full transparency on our website," he wrote.

"At this point, however, and certainly projecting to September, we believe masks are unnecessary," Nardini wrote. "The vast majority of our staff have been fully vaccinated, and the risk that Covid-19 poses to our student population — many of whom will also be vaccinated heading into next year — is extremely low, and not inclusive of the more dramatic symptoms and health problems known to affect older adults."

On Tuesday, Murphy said masks likely will continue to be required in schools in the fall because children under 12 are not yet eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccines.

"If I had to bet today, that we will have masking in schools in the fall as a result of that, and I would suspect we will continue with some of the public health protocols inside the classroom and inside the school buildings to try to mitigate the concern," Murphy said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show. "The concern is a legitimate one." Read more: Gov. Murphy: Expect Masks In NJ Schools In The Fall Amid COVID-19

At the May 19 Toms River school board meeting, about 20 parents and students sat in the bleachers at the Toms River South cafetorium holding signs and demanding the school board ignore the mask mandate now.

Nardini told parents the board and the school district must follow the state's mandates.

"Our hands are tied," he said.

"As parents of this community we chose you to make the decisions that are best for our community," one parent said. "We want to know what you’re doing to untie your hands. Break the silence and fight for our children."

Other parents said students are being reprimanded for removing their masks, which they said is causing anxiety in the children.

"The long-term psychological effects are the next hurdle we face as a community," another parent said. "Children are anxious. They are depressed. This is child abuse and it needs to stop."

Another parent, who said she is a teacher, said she's had to refer greater numbers of children for mental health services this school year, which she blamed on the masks.

Parents also raised concerns that children and staff who have refused vaccinations will be segregated or forced to wear masks while those who have been vaccinated will be free to go without.

"What’s next, separate drinking fountains?" the parent said.

Nardini addressed that issue in the letter to Murphy: "I ask that there be no separation of students based on vaccination status."

In the Toms River school district, about 39 percent of Toms River residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with 48 percent of those 18 and older fully inoculated, according to the New Jersey COVID-19 dashboard. In the sending districts, Pine Beach is at 46 percent, with 56 percent of those over 18 fully vaccinated. In Beachwood, 32 percent overall and 42 percent 18 and older are vaccinated, and in South Toms River, 23 percent overall and 31 percent 18 and older have received the full vaccine course.

"Our board and school district is not 'anti-mask' as a general matter of supposed principle," Nardini wrote. "Please consider repealing Executive Order 175 in time for September, and restoring a sense of normalcy that will help us all breathe easier, literally and figuratively."

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