Reopening plan includes mask requirement

A revised plan to reopen Douglas County schools was submitted to the Nevada Department of Education after being approved by Douglas County School Board trustees on Monday.

On Tuesday, Superintendent Keith Lewis said the district is expecting to receive new information from the state tonight or Wednesday morning.

“Additional guidance is forthcoming, which we view as very positive for what we have been advocating for as a district,” Lewis said.

Trustees voted 5-2 to approve the reopening plan after two hours of contentious public comment, during which some parents threatened to unenroll their children from school rather than have them wear a mask.

The two newly elected members of the school board, Tony Magnotta and Doug Englekirk were the only two votes against approving the plan.

Magnotta said anyone wearing a mask in the room that was packed with more than 50 people should be ashamed of themselves as the crowd chanted “Tony, Tony, Tony.”

Englekirk said he wouldn’t object to teachers and staff wearing masks, but that he opposed masks for the students.

Parents even said they would be willing to pay higher taxes to keep the schools open without masks.

Several said that private schools were not requiring students wear masks.

Last week’s announcement that masks were being required in public buildings for everyone, whether vaccinated or not, went into effect on Friday.

School is scheduled to start on Monday in Carson Valley.

Enforcement of the mask requirement is being conducted by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Lewis said school districts have been warned that failure to follow the mandate could result in a loss of funding.

On July 1, the new pupil centered funding plan took effect, which means the 75 cents per $100 assessed valuation that operates the schools goes to the state instead of the county.

“There is no mitigation measure that could be worse than the inability to provide educational services and opportunities to the students of Douglas County,” Lewis told The R-C. “In addition to funding loss, failure to follow the law opens this district to potential employee grievances, OSHA complaints and fines, and significant liability exposure. Every single one of those options requires the district to expend financial resources. As the superintendent, I believe it's fiscally irresponsible if I were to knowingly expose the district to these possibilities.”