NEWS

Most Sheboygan County schools are still requiring masks, even without the state mandate

Diana Dombrowski
Sheboygan Press
Masked basketball fans watch Kiel play Howards Grove on Feb. 13 in Howards Grove.

SHEBOYGAN - Public school districts throughout the county are still requiring masks, despite a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling at the end of March that blocked Democratic Gov. Tony Evers from issuing any new public health emergency orders to mandate face masks without the approval of the Republican-controlled state Legislature.

Superintendents throughout the county's public school districts said they were keeping an eye on COVID-19 activity and following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the local Public Health department, while one private school has stopped requiring them.

Here's what superintendents had to say about their mask policies:

Cedar Grove-Belgium will continue to wear masks for now as it monitors COVID-19 numbers in the county and its own numbers in the weeks following spring break. Superintendent Chad Brakke said the district is down to almost no cases. The district has been in person all year, Brakke said, and doesn't want to jeopardize the end of the school year, but the school board plans to revisit if and how masks should still be required at a working meeting the last Wednesday of the month. 

Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah will continue to wear masks. Wearing masks was part of the district's reopening plan, so it will continue to require it, said Dr. Ann Buechel Haack, the district's superintendent.

Howards Grove will keep wearing masks. Superintendent Chris Peterson said the district decided to follow the county Public Health department's guidance from the beginning and other than two brief closures, the district has stayed in person all year.

Kohler will continue to require masks. Interim superintendent Cindy Payne said the district has been consistent in following the recommendations of the CDC and state and local public health departments. The district has been in person all year, Payne said, and masking and physical distancing have helped them have minimal cases.

Oostburg's mask requirement is also built into its reentry plan and not related to the state's mandate, Superintendent Kevin Bruggink said in an email. He added: "Although we update our board regularly on our status in relation to the pandemic, no formal action to change course is set at this point."

Plymouth Superintendent Dan Mella said masks will continue to be worn inside.

Random Lake will continue to require masks the rest of the school year, said District Administrator Michael Trimberger. Masks will continue to be required until everyone age 6 and older has access to the vaccine. "The hope is once it's available to everyone we can then get rid of face masks," Trimberger said. 

Sheboygan Area School District's masking policy doesn't change, either. Marketing & Communications Coordinator Nicole Sondalle said the district will continue to follow CDC guidelines.

Sheboygan Falls will continue to wear masks the rest of the year, said Superintendent Annalee Bennin. The district, which has been in person all year, will take another look at the mask requirement for next school year.

Private schools

Sheboygan Lutheran High School required everyone in the building to wear masks during the statewide mask mandate, but now masks are no longer required. Principal Derek Bult said in an email the administration still continues to review its policies and procedures and they "could change on a daily basis based on a number of different factors present within our community and school."

Bethlehem Lutheran School will wear masks the rest of the school year. Principal Patrick Vanic said everyone in the building is required to wear one unless they have a medical reason that prevents them from doing so. "We only have 33 days left, so we decided not to change anything since everyone has been doing very well with the procedures in place," Vanic said in an email.

Contact Diana Dombrowski at 920-242-7079 or ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana