Hartstein: Let's keep masks on in schools to protect kids

As a citizen, a grandparent and as a former mayor and school board member who understands the importance of making policy based on what is in the best interest of all who are affected by a policy, I have believed in supporting mask mandates for our schools in light of current conditions until health officials at different levels of government give a green light to change that protocol in our schools.

According to Illinois Department of Health, since January 3 the state has reported 217,713 new COVID 19 infections among ages 19 and younger. According to the Department our younger residents also comprise the largest rate in increase since January 3 at about 48% compared to other segments of our population.

We need to be cautious before we let down our guard for our kids in our schools. We all want to get back to normal as soon as possible, but we should not be rushing when transitioning based on health official recommendations is a safer approach for all, and I emphasize all.

I am frustrated by the controversy we are seeing about mask mandates in our schools. I know we all care about our kids. I know, likewise, that among parents there are different points of view on what they might prefer for handing COVID in our schools.

The Boards of Education, however, have a duty to make policy based on what is in the interest for all kids in terms of providing a safe and healthy environment in the schools. That is why keeping mask requirements in place has seemed to be a sound policy position while health authorities recommend the need to so. The question of personal choice should not enter into the decision, since not wearing a mask could affect other kids if someone had COVID and was asymptomatic.

We know COVID is contagious. We know it is airborne. We know that the current omicron strain was been shown to be extremely contagious. We know that, while some masks are better than others, all masks curtail spread.

This is not a situation where not wearing a mask only affects the person who does not wear one.

We know some people get very sick from COVID and some have mild or no symptoms. Though wearing masks is not a guarantee that someone will not get or will not transmit COVID, masks have been shown to reduce the likelihood of getting or transmitting COVID.

Since wearing masks reduces the potential spread at schools to students, teachers, administrators, and support staff, the only sound policy is to keep mask requirements in place while COVID is still prevalent based on information being provided from health authorities.

To those who question the policy, erring on the side of mitigating the spread is sound and clearly a better path than letting some have an option to potentially adversely impact the health of others. I urge all to consider this and to wear masks whether they are formally mandated or not. The health of all kids and others in our schools is clearly more important than changing a policy to accommodate some who don't like it, since a change impacts more than those who might prefer an option. We all however most importantly must be respectful of each other and work with each other during these challenging times to keep a healthy environment in our schools for all kids.

I think that the downstate Judge who recently entered an order attempting to eliminate the Governor's mandate and the mask mandate of some schools was wrong and was overly influenced by some downstate politics. That ruling created a lot of confusion about what districts could or could not do, Though the Appellate Court on appeal of the ruling dismissed the appeal as moot since some of the rules were no longer technically in effect, the Court said: "We note the language of the TRO in no way restrains school districts from acting independently from the executive orders or the IDPH in creating provisions addressing COVID-19."

There may be further rulings, if as anticipated, this ruling is appealed to the Supreme Court. Regardless the most recent ruling means School Districts can continue to impose reasonable rules on COVID to protect school health environments.

I had hoped all districts would follow the science and recommendations of Public Health officials who believe that masks should be used in schools until they recommended otherwise.

A few have and many have rushed to make it optional even before we see what any further rulings come down. I understand how difficult this situation is for local school boards with people pushing with many points of view. Nonetheless, they need to have the courage to do what is right for all the kids and not just for those parents who are the most vocal; and they need to do it with transparency and thoughtfully; and not back into policies because of administrative stumbles.

In Glenbrook High Schools District 225, the Administration moved to "masks recommended" this past Friday morning without any prior communication to the community and then had a Board meeting Saturday morning allowing recorded statements from residents before they went to a closed session and came out with a policy recommendation to officially make masks recommended on Tuesday.

To me, it looked like using the closed session was a stretch at best, and that was even acknowledged by one board member who also noted reluctantly supporting backing into a decision after a change in policy had already been made on the ground.

I understand and appreciate the need to transition from COVID protocols but they should not be rushed and clearly should be done after open discussion. I heard and respect the many points of view which were shared by parents in recorded statements, but it should be stressed COVID should not be looked at as a partisan issue, but rather as a health issue with a very contagious air born disease, that is still prevalent even if decreasing, where simple common sense dictates that health expert recommendations should control and school districts who are being pushed should error on the side of keeping protocols in place which reduce spread of COVID.

Since all students can have an impact on each other by eliminating masks, we just increase the likelihood of spread of COVID by dropping mask requirements too quickly even if we want to phase them out. It is of course not perfect, but trying to protect each other just seems like a logical path that is in everyone's best interest in our schools.

Even without formals rules in place let's remember that and respect each other and encourage our kids to do so as well. We likewise all need to thank those on our School Boards for their dedicated service but should not hesitate to insist on clear timely communications and decisions and discussions in the open where we can better understand rationales with opportunity to share our input in tandem before decisions are made which have an impact on our community and all of our kids. Let's also keep it civil and respectful, and continue to fight for what makes sense for all kids.

• Elliott Hartstein of Northbrook is an attorney and a former Buffalo Grove village president. If you are interested in possibly discussing this topic further over Zoom with Elliott and others, you can email him at elliotthartstein@yahoo.com.