Bakersfield’s revised reopening plan sparks strong feelings on both sides

Bakersfield School has revised its reopening guidelines to follow new state-agency recommendations, and the most controversial part of the revision pertains to students’ mask-wearing.

Bakersfield superintendent Dr. Amy Britt told the Times Monday the issues related to students’ mask-wearing have created “the most difficult situation I’ve encountered as superintendent.”

Previously, Bakersfield’s school guidelines for reopening during the current covid-19 pandemic (published in the Aug. 5 edition of the Times) said that face shields or masks would be required for staff anytime they are unable to socially distance, and that masks and face coverings would be “made available for all students, who will be strongly encouraged to wear them.” 

Bakersfield’s revision, announced last week, is based on “Guidelines and Recommendations for Opening Sports/Activities” distributed Aug. 10 by the Missouri State High School Activities Association and its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

Among other changes, Bakersfield’s revised guidelines now require masks or face coverings for all students on buses. The district also asks parents who can do so to provide their own student transportation to and from school instead of using bus transportation so that fewer students ride buses and distancing is easier. 

In addition, the revision states that students in sixth through 12th grades are to wear masks or face coverings in hallways and anytime they are not able to social distance (including in classrooms). And the guidelines say that teachers have the authority to require masks in their classrooms – for instance, when they, or a student in the class, have compromised health.

Another change is that tables will be removed from classrooms and replaced with individual desks wherever possible, and desks will be wiped down between classes.

Masks now required for students involved in sports and activities

One of the most surprising MSHSAA changes is in its section titled “Guidelines and Recommendations for Return to Sport and Activity Due to COVID-19 impact.” The new recommendation says, “Masks or face coverings are REQUIRED for participants, coaches/directors and officials/adjudicators any time they are not doing strenuous physical activity. Wearing masks before activities and immediately following activities is REQUIRED, especially prior to screening.”

For Bakersfield students participating in Quiz Bowl and music, and “for ALL athletes in ALL seasons,” this means:

• “Participants must wear masks on buses to and from school, to and from games, and on the bench during games if social distancing is not possible.”

and

• “Participants must wear masks all day at school except when running or playing an instrument or eating/drinking.”

Another change in MSHSAA’s guidelines reverses an earlier recommendation that said students who opt for online learning would not be allowed to participate in sports and other school activities. The new recommendations say that students should be allowed to participate whether they are doing online or in-person learning.

So far, no other Ozark County high schools have informed the Times of any changes in their original reopening plans in light of MSHSAA’s new recommendations. Lutie School superintendent Scot Young said he was looking into the matter, and he anticipated that Lutie may also revise its guidelines for student athletes based on the MSHSAA guidelines.

Are ‘recommendations’ mandatory?

Britt said some have questioned whether the new MSHSAA guidelines are mandatory since they are also titled as “recommendations.” But, she said, other MSHSAA “recommendations” include such things as sports physicals for student athletes, which all school districts require.

“I know there are strong feelings on both sides of this issue,” Britt said, adding that a lot of families in the Bakersfield district say they’re going to keep their children out of school because masks are being required in more situations for some students – and other families say they’re going to keep their students out of school because masks aren’t required for all students all the time. 

“As a district, our number one focus is the health and safety of our students. Time will see everything through, and if it turns out that masks weren’t necessary, if that was one thing we could do to keep our kids safe, then I would rather have worn them and learn later that they weren’t necessary than to have not worn them and find out later they could have helped – or even saved a life,” Britt said.

“I know emotions run high on this issue, but I would simply encourage everyone to remember that the people who feel differently are our friends and neighbors, and the way they feel about masks doesn’t change that,” she said. “At the end of the day, we all want our kids to be safe and healthy and to get back to a normal routine. No matter how you stand on the issue, one day we won’t be talking about covid-19, and we don’t need to lose lifetime friends over masks. If we, as adults, model this attitude and show the students we care about them enough to inconvenience ourselves to wear masks – if we show them they’re that important to us – hopefully they’ll want to wear them too.”

To help create a feeling of “we’re all in this together,” Britt said, the school has ordered a supply of masks – enough for every student and staff member. Each is imprinted with the logo “Bakersfield Strong.”