Jenks Board Of Education Votes To Keep Mask Requirement In Place

The Jenks Public Schools Board voted to keep the temporary mask requirement districtwide.

Board members said since the district’s COVID-19 numbers seem to be staying low, and there are options to opt out, there's no reason to change it.

Superintendent Stacey Butterfield said Jenks Public Schools has about 31 positive cases right now, and has only had to transition one class to distance learning.

Last month, the board approved the mask requirement for all students, employees, and visitors, with opt-out options for medical, religious or strong personal reasons. The district said 18 percent of students and 22 percent of employees opted out.

Parent Lyndsay Janzen has two kids at Jenks and asked the board to keep the mask mandate. She said it's better for everyone, and makes her feel safer as a parent.

“We're seeing what good leadership can do at the school on saying, this is what we would like you to do and we're gonna give you the choice,” Janzen said.

"Knowing numbers are going down is helpful,” said Board President Terry Keeling. “We’re a cautious group so we want to give it a little more time."

The board is set to talk about the mask requirement again next month and could choose to end it then depending on what numbers look like.