UPDATE: As of Jan. 18, The Magnolia School Board has reinstated the mask mandate policy that was put into place during the fall semester and will let it be known when students no longer have to wear masks.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Magnolia School District closed school campuses on Friday, Jan. 14 due to the number of staff and students absent. The day was used as an AMI day. All school events were also canceled and will be rescheduled. The district said it would evaluate the numbers over the next few days to make a decision when to return to normal schedules. The district, closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day.
The Magnolia School District did not decide to require masks in classrooms at January regular school board meeting last week.
Magnolia Superintendent John Ward said that while all students and staff are encouraged to wear masks when they cannot socially distance or have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, the district wouldn't be implementing mask-wearing requirements.
Ward cited students' difficulty wearing masks properly as one reason the district wouldn't impose a mask mandate.
"The kids do not wear them properly all the time, so I don't think it works all the time," he said. "But all kids and all staff are encouraged to wear masks if they are close."
Ward referred to the Magnolia School Districts 2021/2022 COVID guidelines, details of which are available on the district's website. The policy states that if the COVID test positivity rate in Columbia County is below 8%, the requirement for masks to be worn by all school district employees, students and visitors while inside any school district building, bus, van or other vehicles will be lifted.
During the board meeting, Ward said that there were about 120 staff and students with positive cases of the virus as of Monday. Another 350 to 400 staff members and students were being quarantined. However, he said those numbers were fluid and were just an estimate since changes are reported regularly.
Ward said the numbers of those impacted by COVID in Arkansas quickly fluctuate as well.
"We realize the numbers in Arkansas are high, but when you look at those trends, those spikes go down nearly as fast as they go up," he said.
The board will review its COVID policies at its next scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. on Feb. 15.
Across Southwest Arkansas, Columbia Christian School, Emerson-Taylor-Bradley and Smackover-Norphlet District implemented an "alternative method of instruction" (AMI) beginning Wednesday.
Spring semester classes at SAU started Jan. 12. A mask mandate is in effect for classrooms, shared offices and when in transit to buildings. Signs are posted outside individual offices of those employees requesting mask usage in personal spaces, and the Task Force requests visitors comply with these requests.
Due to increasing rates of COVID in Texarkana, the Texarkana, Arkansas School District also pivoted to virtual learning last week and was scheduled to resume normal classes on Tuesay. The Texarkana, Texas Independent School District schools closed Wednesday and was also expected to reopen on Tuesday.