By HEATHER WALTERS
Colleton County officials and state school leaders will continue to enforce current mask ordinances for all students, staff and parents, despite S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster calling the student mask mandate “ridiculous.”
In an interview with The State Newspaper last week, McMaster said it was ‘ridiculous” that South Carolina students are forced to wear masks at school. His statements came after a reporter asked him about recent parental pushback on the student-mask mandates in schools.
“Those parents are exactly right,” McMaster told reporters. “If they do not want their children being forced by the government to wear a mask in school, they should not be forced by the government to wear a mask in school against the wishes of the parents,” according to his quotes printed in The State Newspaper.
In that same interview, however, McMaster said it is up to each municipality in the Palmetto State to enforce mask ordinances. There is no statewide mask ordinance in effect.
When asked about McMaster’s statements, Colleton County School District officials are standing behind their decision in requiring masks on all school grounds.
“Protecting our staff, students and our families while we provide five days of in-person instruction remains Colleton County School District’s top priority,” said Sean Gruber, spokesman for the Colleton County School District. “In order to keep our school facilities as safe as possible, CCSD will continue to utilize practices, as recommended by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Centers for Disease Control.”
According to Gruber, these safety protocols include:
• District employees had the opportunity to receive COVID-19 vaccinations through clinics hosted at Colleton County High School, the latest clinic being held on April 28.
• Over 6,000 desk barriers, many of which were delivered to Colleton County schools on October 20, have been placed in all of our school facilities and will continue to be used.
• Schools and buses will be cleaned daily, and comprehensively disinfected once per week.
• Anyone visiting district property will be required to wear a mask, and all students and staff will be expected to wear a mask throughout the instructional day.
• Air purifiers have been placed in all CCSD classrooms.
• Students will undergo temperature checks upon entering district properties.
• Social distancing will be enforced on district properties when possible.
“The practices listed above, in addition to being effective measures for keeping students and staff safe, must remain in place in schools to receive immunity from COVID liability, according to legislation signed and enacted by Governor Henry McMaster last week,” Gruber said, on Monday.
According to Gruber, Colleton’s current mask mandates and COVID-19 prevention protocols “may change” by the beginning of the fall semester. “Until then, CCSD remains committed to using whatever measures necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and communities,” he said.
Additionally, officials with the S.C. School Boards Association are also supporting ongoing mask requirements in school districts across the Palmetto State.
In a statement issued on April 29th, S.C. School Boards Association executive director Scott Price said following health and safety guidelines regarding COVID-19 are “imperative.”
“Working with their superintendent and school personnel, local school boards have been very careful to ensure that schools adhere to frequently changing health and safety guidance issued by federal and state authorities,” he said. “ … As we approach the next school year, we acknowledge that guidelines may change and masks may not be required in the classroom, but until then, we must follow the recommendations of health experts regarding the safety of students and staff,” he said, in a written statement.
Mask mandates are ongoing in Colleton County, including mandates issued by the City of Walterboro and by the Town of Edisto Beach.
