Masks Are On, Again, In Sachem Schools On Tuesday

RONKONKOMA, NY — The Sachem School District announced it would revert back to requiring masks for students and staff on Monday, one day after its Board of Education held an emergency meeting approving the measure which veered away from New York State's guidelines, according to a letter to the community.

Schools Superintendent Christopher Pelletieri referred to the guideline as a "directive" that is "not subject to local school control and is a blanket requirement throughout the state."

Failure to comply with the state's directive could expose Sachem to "sanctions and liability," Pelletieri said.

"I am writing tonight to inform you that we must remain in compliance with this latest state issued directive requiring that masks be worn inside school buildings, but that no one will be required to wear a mask during outside activities," he added.

Starting on Tuesday, students, staff, and visitors will be required to wear masks when in school and on school buses once again, according to Pelletieri.

Outdoor mask wearing will be optional based on individual choice, and mask breaks, which will continue to be encouraged throughout the day, can be requested by any student, and staff "will facilitate their ability to do so safely," he said.

Pelletieri went on to say that he understands the news will be disappointing and he
sympathizes with "those feelings," but he asked that parents speak with their children about the update and answer any questions they might have about it.

"Your ongoing cooperation and patience with the requirements imposed upon us is greatly
appreciated. As we approach the final days of the school year, we remain hopeful that
these restrictions will continue to be eliminated, especially as we plan for the new year in September," he concluded.

In a flip-flop over the weekend, state officials, who were leaning toward relaxing the mandate, instead opted to keep the classroom mask mandate in place. Sachem's Board of Education voted to make masks optional for students and staff.

Pelletieri said it was believed the mask mandates would be eliminated on Monday, and "while there was some apparently conflicting information sent from the office of the Commissioner of Education on Sunday, the board directed that mask wearing would be
optional in light of the information received from the Commissioner of Health."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that school districts can lift the mask mandate for students and staff outside, but masks will still be required for students outside.

He went on to say that COVID-19 numbers "show that the risk of transmission by children is extremely low, especially in this state, which has an extremely low positivity rate."

Cuomo, however, noted that his staff spoke with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and "since they're not going to change their guidance for several weeks in New York, we're going to modify the CDC guidance and allow schools to choose no mask outside
for children."

"We'll leave that up to the local school district and we spoke to the CDC, which has no objection," he said. "It's very important that people understand the logic between these decisions and that they're rational and based on the science and the data. We have a disconnect right now between the school guidance and the camp guidance, and it's important to rectify it because if

people don't think the rules are logical, then they're not going to want to follow the rules."