CAIRO — The Grady County Board of Education voted to keep the face mask policies it ended the 2020-21 school year with in place for the 2021-22 school year.

Board members voted Monday morning to retain the policy, which recommends face masks be worn by students and staff. Masks are required when students are in common areas and changing classes and are required for students and faculty when teachers are working one-on-one with students or when they cannot maintain social distancing. 

Employees also must wear masks when in hallways and common areas.

Masks are required to be worn on school buses. 

Superintendent Dr. Kermit Gilliard told board members he would make a recommendation but would support the board’s decision.

“I have no hard feelings one way or the other,” he said. “I think I can find as many people on one side as on the other. I’ve gone back and forth. My concern is that if we change it to required, we turn the apple cart upside down.”

Said board member Gerald Goosby, “With all the cases we have in Grady County and the surrounding communities, I think the apple cart has been turned over. We need to do everything in our power, everything in our power, to make sure the students are in the classroom and in a safe environment and learning.”

Goosby said many neighboring districts with “watered-down” mask protocols have sent their students home. Thomasville City Schools, which has a mask mandate in place, has remained open since the start of school. Thomas County Schools, where masks are optional, also has kept classes open and operating. 

Thomas County Schools reported 126 COVID-19 positive students from a total enrollment of 5,819, a 2.2% positive rate. There are 17 staff members out of a total 847 with a reported positive COVID-19 test, a 2% rate.

Thomasville City Schools reported 28 students out of 2,795 with a positive COVID-19 test result, a 1% rate, and four employees out of 420, just under 1%, as being COVID-19 positive.  

Gilliard noted that the school systems in Lee County, Decatur County, Seminole County, Cook County and Worth County have sent their students home for a week or two. While none had mask requirements, Gilliard said it was staff members’ COVID-19 exposure that prompted the shutdowns.

Board member Jeff Worsham said pushing the start of school back should be considered, pointing out that last school year also was delayed.

“Instead of shutting something down, we could bump it out another couple of weeks,” he said. “If we needed more time, push the start week back a couple of weeks to see what the numbers look like.”

Gilliard said the system had 14 COVID-19 positive test results as of August 27.

Board member Teresa Gee Hardy asked if it was easier to roll back restrictions than it would be to tighten them once school starts.

“We’re not a mask police,” she said. “But we are charged with looking out what’s best for our children.”

Worsham also backed keeping the policy in place but said putting mandates in effect may be beyond the school board’s reach.

“I think we need to be careful,” he said. “When we start talking about mandating more and more and more, i think we’re overstepping our boundaries. I think a parent knows their child better than we do and a parent should have a say-so in what their child does.”