Largest Hamilton school board will vote on mask mandate next month

By

Published April 25, 2022 at 11:10 pm

Trustees of the largest Hamilton school board have deferred voting on a mask-mandate motion.

On Monday night, Ward 3 Trustee Maria Felix Miller introduced a motion that would reintroduce masks for students, staff and visitors in Hamilton-Wentworth District School (HWDSB) buildings. Miller stated trustees have “a responsibility to act for our most vulnerable.” Staffing levels are also an issue; the board had been told earlier by interim Director of Education John Bryant that HWDSB is using “uncertified teachers” to fill shortages, although not all staff absences stem directly from COVID-19.

Ultimately, HWDSB voted 7-5 in favour of a motion, introduced by Ward 4 Trustee Ray Mulholland, to defer Miller’s motion to its May 9 meeting in two weeks. Mulholland, HWDSB vice-chair and wards 8 and 14 Trustee Becky Buck, and Kathy Archer (Ward 6), Penny Deathe (15), Alex Johnstone (12), Carole Paikin Miller (5) and Elizabeth Wong (1&2)  voted for the deferral.

Hamilton Health Sciences has said over 190 children have been admitted to McMaster Children’s Hospital with COVID-19 this year and 31 have required intensive care. Public Health Ontario has also advised that an increasing number of children may develop severe symptoms after being infected with the BA.2 Omicron subvariant of COVID-19.

But trustees said they needed more information about how masking will affect HWDSB operations before they could make a decision. Interim Director of Education John Bryant said that would be available by May 9.

Board chair and Ward 7 Trustee Dawn Danko, Ward 3’s Miller, Cam Galindo (9&10) and Paul Tut (13) and student trustee Deema Abdel Hafeez voted against deferring the motion.

“Making a decision based on your most vulnerable is not performative,” Miller said. “A significant amount of private businesses continue to make those choices. We as a public school board, we should be able to make these decisions and veer to the side of caution. If I’m wrong, I’m glad to be wrong on this one.

“I know there are folks who are very tired about the rules around COVID,” Miller added. “We have a responsibility around the HWDSB to every single student and their caregiver and their families, and our schools cannot function without our staff. We cannot continue to deliver the quality of education they have been providing throughtout this pandemic. They are tired and they are exhausted and they are getting sick and there are not enough staff to currently cover absences every single day. We have seen a sharp increase in those numbers since March 21, and since the removal of masks.”

One of the schools in Miller’s ward, Cathy Wever Elementary School, had a 33.5 per cent absence rate last Friday (April 22). The province’s system of reporting absence data does not convey how much COVID-19 factors into students and staff being away.

Bryant did not have an exact percentage for how many staff absences across HWDSB schools are due to COVID-19. He suggested the figure was in the 11 or 12 per cent range.

On Monday, several municipalities, following provincial direction, affirmed that masking requirements will remain on public transit until at least June 11. But it is optional in school classrooms, not to mention school buses, where children and staff stay in one spot for much longer than the typical public-transit trip. Since COVID-19 droplets are airborne, the risk of exposure increases with the length of time a person is in a room, although that is also dependent on ventilation.

Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said masking was optional in school settings as of March 21. The HWDSB, which has the autonomy to do so under the Education Act, kept masking for two more weeks, until April 1.

Danko recently wrote to Hamilton Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson and Education Minister Stephen Lecce asking them to “please demonstrate leadership” and call for the return of masking. Monday, she told fellow trustees and board staff that Hamilton public health is not recommending a masking mandate.

“(Hamilton) public health has told us they are not in a position to recommend a mask requirement, but they still strongly recommend wearing a mask,” Danko said.

Danko did not say whether there was any response to her letter from the Ministry of Education. In the course of the meeting, trustees were told about tutoring programs that they are expected to have in place by late this spring in order to help with education recovery after three pandemic-interrupted school years.

Tut called the staffing crunch a “crisis” for the school board.

“Having to work around and find Band-Aid solutions to our current staffing levels, it’s unsustainable,” Tut said.

The board oversees just over 90 schools. Last Friday, 21 HWDSB schools had absence rates of at least 20 per cent.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising