SMCISD will recommend masks but set to end mandate effective Tuesday

San Marcos Consolidated ISD’s mask mandate comes to an end Tuesday. 

The school district announced that it would recommend masks but would no longer require them in a message sent to SMCISD families Monday night. 

“The mask mandate worked when vaccines were not available for all students and helped students and staff weather the Delta and Omicron surges,” the district said in its message to parents. “Now that guidance from public health experts is changing, we need to update our protocols.”

SMCISD made the decision to recommend masks but to end the mandate after the Board of Trustees gave Superintendent Dr. Michael Cardona the authority to determine the necessity of masks given current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. 

The CDC recently released a new COVID-19 Community Levels tool, which sorts counties into high, medium and low-risk categories by using data such as hospital admissions, hospital beds being used and the total number of coronavirus cases. 

COVID-19 cases in Hays County have recently seen a rapid decline with 5,226 active cases on Feb. 9 to 932 on Monday. According to the CDC’s Community Levels tool, Hays County has a low community spread level as of Monday. Recommendations for communities listed as low-risk include vaccinations and getting tested if symptomatic but doesn’t include masking. 

During Monday’s board meeting, SMCISD Director of Safety and Health Services Doug Wozniak said the district has averaged approximately five new COVID-19 cases per week for the last two weeks. 

“We’ve had just a huge drop off,” Wozniak said. “That even includes our asymptomatic testing on Friday. And that’s five total a week — students and staff and the asymptomatic Friday testing, which at one point we were just getting hammered, probably three weeks in a row we averaged over 100 asymptomatic positives that Friday and just a complete drop off.” 

The SMCISD board unanimously approved to give Cardona the authority to determine necessary COVID-19 mitigation strategies for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year. 

.“We will inform the community,” Cardona said during Monday’s meeting. Shortly after the vote, the district sent out its message informing families about the mandate’s end. 

“The CDC still recommends masking for anyone who is not vaccinated,” the district stated. “Masks are one layer of protection along with staying up-to-date on your COVID-19 vaccine, getting tested, and staying home when you’re sick. Together we have made it through this pandemic with grace, resilience, and a strong commitment to our community. The pandemic is not over, but we will continue working together to keep each other safe and to support all students.”