McAlester Public Schools To Require Masks For Students, Teachers

McAlester Public Schools will require students and teachers to wear masks when they go back to school.

The board of education voted unanimously on the measure during a meeting Monday night.

MPS sent out surveys to parents and staff asking their thoughts on masking up for the school.

In all, the board said it got more than 1,600 responses.

The school district live-streamed the meeting where board members, all wearing masks, shared the results of the survey.

The board said 57 percent of McAlester parents are in favor of teachers and staff wearing masks at school. Almost 51 percent want to see students wearing masks. More than 57 percent of teachers support wearing masks, and 54 percent are in favor of students wearing masks to school.

The board said parents will have to provide masks for their child.            

The board also went over some of the new safety procedures in place for the district amid the pandemic.

The district said bus routes will still run, but students will have their temperature taken before getting on the bus. Teachers will arrange classrooms differently and classrooms will also have sanitizer readily available.  

School starts in McAlester on August 12.

The Oklahoma State Board of Education will meet Thursday to discuss the possibility of making masks mandatory for all school districts in the state.