HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — As the more than 12,000 students in the Cabell County Schools district arrived in the classrooms for the first day on Wednesday, there were no mask requirements as the result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That could change on Thursday night.
At 4 p.m. on Thursday, the Cabell County Board of Education will hold an emergency meeting to discuss and potentially vote on mask requirements for the school year.
Ryan Saxe, Cabell County Schools Superintendent appeared on Wednesday’s MetroNews ‘Talkline’ to discuss the upcoming decision and the previous one to begin with no mask mandate.
“We believe at the time we were developing our guidance that a mask mandate was not necessary. We wanted to give our families the choice to choose whether they wanted their children to wear a mask or even the adults in the building,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Cabell County Board of Education held a regularly scheduled meeting where Saxe said eight parents/guardians spoke up in favor of requiring masks in schools. Saxe said he is confident the best decision will be made for the state’s second-largest school district.
“What we have to be able to do is we have to listen, we have to conduct our own research with the data that we have. In the way of the board, the board has to vote with their heart. They have to be able to vote with what they think is best for the school district and students,” he said.
Saxe said he is formulating options for Thursday’s meeting, closing monitoring the situation with the local health department. School districts around the state have begun classes this week with varying requirements.
It’s all came down to local control as Gov. Jim Justice and his administration have not given guidance for masks in schools this fall. Justice said at his coronavirus briefing on Wednesday state remains wanting to give all local control on mask decisions despite rising virus numbers around the state.
“We’re trying to not be evasive, we’re trying to give people that are on the ground in their counties, flexibility and control within their counties,” the governor said.
“We’re giving the parents complete flexibility. The parents should be the people that are the decision-makers.”
The state Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reported on Wednesday more than 400 hospitalizations across the state due to the virus for the first time since Feb. 2. 820 new virus cases were confirmed by the agency which brings the number of active cases to 7,579. On August 1, active cases were around 2,500.
In Cabell County, just over 48,000 people over the age of 12 have been vaccinated equaling 60.3% of that population. Those 12 and younger, in all of elementary and some middle schools, are not able to be vaccinated.
Saxe said he too believes in the local control given by the Justice administration because every county is different in numbers.
“When you’re dealing with a pandemic such as this, that is ever-changing. We have to be able to change our guidelines and protocols based on the information we have at the time. I don’t think there is any magic wand that will make this easier,” Saxe said.