School Board Mask Meeting

An important School Board Meeting is scheduled for 2/24/22,  6:30 P.M. in the school gym.
Please come and provide your thoughts on our safety mitigations for COVID-19.

An Illinois appeals court has thrown out Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s request to keep a state school mask mandate in place. The ruling effectively means Illinois school districts no longer must require students and staff to mask up, though the decision leaves room for school systems to implement their own COVID-19 safety rules. As a district, we are reviewing the information made available to us and will meet with our School Board and Attorney to determine our next steps that best serve our students, staff, and community members.

As with all decisions, there are going to be individuals who are in favor of wearing masks and there are going to be those who absolutely want to stop wearing masks altogether. We understand and empathize with both opinions. We hope to work toward a time when wearing a mask or not wearing a mask is an individual choice made without judgment. As a district, we will continue to put the safety of our students and staff at the forefront of any decision made. Burnham Elementary School will have a motion on the table for a Board vote to have masks to be strongly recommended but optional starting February 28, 2022. This coincides with Governor JB Pritzker, D-Illinois plans to lift the statewide indoor mask mandate at the end of the month. For those that are concerned about this shift, please know that we will closely monitor the data and can return to masks required if case positivity rates suggest the need to do so.

We hope to see you at our meeting on Thursday