A Unit 5 board member, who has been pretty adamant against masking up children, said the board did not meet for an emergency board meeting. The board likely look at the ruling and what it means for the district come the Wednesday school board meeting scheduled for 6:30 pm at Normal West high school.
Jeremy DeHaai said the ruling left the district and other Illinois districts in a scramble, this is despite the lawsuit being heard in court for about five weeks.
“I think the wording of the TRO was such a surprise. I think our expectations and our attorney’s, his interpretation, and what most people expected was that the ruling was going to be specific on the plaintiffs involved and the school districts involved. The judge, her comments, were very strongly worded she even said what was done by the governor was evil at some point in the ruling,” said DeHaai.
DeHaai said the board and Unit 5 were caught off guard and flat-footed.
“In hindsight we probably should have considered all possible scenarios, but we had not,” said DeHaai.
Tri-Valley has paused masking and went mask optional since yesterday, Feb. 7, according to a Tri-Valley parent who sent her five children to the district today, Feb. 8 without masks on.
The Grundler kids were given their faces back by Tri-Valley
In an email sent to parents of Tri-Valley district:
The ruling against our state puts all schools in legal limbo with no chance of certainty and/or clarity until the completion of the legal appeal process. Our goal in our original decision was to avoid moving back and forth between protocols should an appeal overturn the judge’s TRO order.
However, due to the distractions we have encountered, we feel we have no choice but to “pause” enforcing masking and close contact/exclusions of asymptomatic individuals as we await the conclusion of the appeal process. We are hopeful for a swift decision.
“I think it should be a local decision. I would like us to have is have the opportunity to make a decision as a board to determine what’s best for our district. I’m confident that if we do have that opportunity we’ll make the right decision for our district,” said DeHaai. “There are a lot of districts now that are doing mask optional.”
McLean County districts that have stopped enforcing the mandates include LeRoy, Heyworth, Lexington, Blue Ridge and El Paso-Gridley.
“There were a lot of districts who are still in favor of masking or even districts that went remote, but one thing for sure is that there’s a lot of confusion,” said DeHaai.
ESSER funding and if that funding goes away if the district follows lawful ruling
There is funding provided by the federal government called ESSER funding that has to do with schools and COVID.
In 2020 and 2021, Congress passed three stimulus bills that provided nearly $190.5 billion to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund.
There were three phases of the ESSER funds rolled out to Unit 5. According to DeHaai the initial one was was for PPE sanitation products, that’s that’s been received. The second roll out of funds was for bipolar ionization, HPAC systems, ventilation improvements, etc. The third has yet to be received, but DeHaai said there is not a direct correlation with the Governor’s mandates and the ESSER funding. The third roll out of funds would address learning loss and the “road to recovery” by implementation of summer school programs.
“If we are not mandating the masks, we would still be eligible to receive the extra funding. States that don’t have the mask mandate or even states to prohibit mask mandates…their schools, they’re still receiving the extra funding,” said DeHaai.
DeHaai said he would be shocked if the board were to not discuss the ruling and he would be disappointed.
Bloomington Police has not yet clarified if there would be enforcement of the ruling at a local level.
“This is something we need to review as a team,” said public relations officer John Fermon.
ISU continues to mask up despite the ruling, Lab schools notified to continue unlawful mandates
Illinois State University continues to follow the executive order from the Governor’s office with regard to face coverings.
“The recent court ruling in Springfield pertains to K-12 school districts named in the ruling, not institutions of higher education. Illinois State will continue to follow the guidance of the of Governor’s office, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The University’s required weekly testing for those who have not provided proof of vaccination continues as usual,” said ISU spokesperson Eric Jome.
