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Hays CISD COVID-19 update

Hays CISD COVID-19 update
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From Hays CISD Superintendent Dr. Eric Wright 


Dear Hays CISD Family,


Let me first thank all of you who have reached out to us via email and our engagement platforms on the web in advance of tomorrow morning’s Board meeting. We have many parents who want us to defy the governor’s mask order and many others who are demanding that we don’t.


We have a diverse district with passionate parents. That is our strength. Though it may seem that we are divided, I know that through open discussion and fervent advocacy for children – our students – we have always found the best pathway through any challenge. We all share passion and a desire to make the best decisions for our children. We all want to protect both the safety of students and the rights of families to make health and education decisions that work with the varied array of individual and collective needs in our community. And, we all wanted to have a relatively normal start to the school year.


I’ll be the first to admit that as late as last Friday, I was trying to hold tight to the hope that we weren’t going to have a disrupted year. We were still operating under the rule that only unvaccinated people were required to wear masks. By Monday, it was impossible to ignore the data and the reality we are facing with the Delta Variant of COVID. By most measures, we’re in a worse situation now than we were at the start of last school year. By other measures, such as the number of available hospital beds in our region and the number of children affected by the disease, we are in a worse situation now than at any other time during the pandemic – including the winter 2020 spike.


As we continue to refine and adjust our safety protocols, we will do everything we can to make decisions that are the most protective of children, while having the least possible restrictive or disruptive effects. That means we aren’t going to make blanket cancellation decisions, but we will require safety plans for field trips and events. Currently, we have a 50% capacity in place at our athletic venues. We’ll lift that as soon as we can – especially for our outdoor venues like our stadiums. All will depend on the data in the coming weeks – not the emotion and not the politics.


Our newest version of our safety plan is on the web tonight. The highlights haven’t changed since last Monday’s email. We have primarily provided more specifics. View the plan at: https://www.hayscisd.net/COVIDplan.  View all of our COVID information at: www.hayscisd.net/coronavirus.


Let me address masks. As I have been making my traditional back-to-school rounds with members of the media today, I have been asked whether we will issue a mask mandate. My answer continues to be no. It’s not because I don’t believe that masks will make a difference. I know that they will. It’s not because I don’t want people to wear masks – I most certainly do. However, I have always been straightforward with you and I am not going to stop today. You deserve the truth.


Without the ability to enforce a mask mandate, I think saying we have one is disingenuous. What would the first day of school look like if we had a mandate and one or more students - or half of the campus – showed up without masks? We cannot evict students or deny entry based on their compliance with a district mask mandate. I don’t want parents to hear that we have a mask mandate and then have a false sense of security that everyone at school will be wearing a mask. We know, and the numbers will vary by campus, that some students will not be masked. I suspect if we tried to defy the governor, we’d probably increase the number of mask-less people on campus who would want to challenge us for challenging the governor.


As much as I do not like the fact that our state leadership has not let our locally elected school boards have the power to determine the best approach with masks; and, as much as I believe that vaccinations plus masks are the only two ways out of this pandemic; I cannot expect anyone to follow any of our rules if we teach our children, or allow ourselves, to pick and choose which rules count and which do not.


We are carefully watching what is happening legally regarding masks. It is in the court system and I know we’ll have an answer soon. Depending on what happens legally, we will reconsider our options if we are able.


We have fewer options to offer you than we had last year, but we will get through this. I am still hopeful that the speed bump at the start of this school year will only last a matter of weeks rather than months. We’ll take it a day at a time and I’ll keep you informed.


In addition to emails as frequently as needed; every week, I do a video message called “Wright This Minute.” In this week’s edition, I talk about masks and our remote learning option. Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILACwkejvsA.


Stay tuned and stay safe!


Sincerely,


Eric


 


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