The CDC relaxed guidelines for masking. Why Fayette schools will take longer.

Fayette County schools leaders and health department officials met Sunday and decided not to lift the district’s mask mandate at this point, saying COVID numbers are still too high, Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said.

“No change is warranted at this time, however, I anticipate being able to bring a recommendation reflecting the new guidance to our Fayette County Board of Education in the near future,” Liggins told families in a message Sunday night.

“Following Friday’s announcement from the CDC, we expect to receive revised guidance from the Kentucky Department for Public Health, which will allow us to once again update our current practices,” Liggins said.

Some families and community members had been asking for the school district to, at the very least, allow masks to be optional on Fayette school campuses and to discuss the issue at Monday’s monthly school meeting.

On the heels of Friday’s revised guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding health and safety protocols for communities and schools, leaders from the Fayette County Public Schools and Lexington-Fayette County Health Department met Sunday to discuss local ramifications.

However, the CDC says that Fayette County’s case level is still too high. Fayette residents should still wear a mask indoors in public and stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC interactive website tool for Fayette County said.

The CDC on Friday announced a new way of determining the need for health restrictions, such as wearing masks. Under the new guidance, communities are evaluated on new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, COVID-19 related hospital admissions, and the percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Each county is categorized as high, medium, or low risk, which correspond to different levels of recommended health and safety protocols.

“For much of the country it’s a better picture,” Lexington-Fayette County Health Commissioner Joel McCullough said of Friday’s announcement. “For Fayette County and most of Central Kentucky, the COVID-19 community level is still high. We are moving in the right direction, but I would not recommend lowering our layered prevention measures while we are at a high level.”

The health department website said that Fayette’s seven day rolling average of cases as of Friday was 102.

Under current state law, the authority to determine mask requirements in schools rests with the local school board. In September, the Fayette County Board of Education voted unanimously to require the proper usage of face masks in all district facilities and FCPS vehicles, including on school buses.

“While I am committed to taking revised mask requirements to the board as soon as it is appropriate, prematurely moving away from masking could derail our efforts to keep our schools open,” Liggins said.

The issue is not on the agenda for the school board meeting on Monday, February 28, 2022.

“It is disappointing that the Superintendent and Board continue maneuvering to avoid an open conversation on a matter that affects every FCPS student and employee,” said Todd Burus, a parent who has been asking for the school board to take up the issue Monday. “Their communications have the appearance of transparency, and yet they are used to avoid actually addressing the matter in a planned and public forum. Keeping this off the agenda at the February 28th meeting is a tactic meant to suppress public comment.”

“Overall, the request remains the same—for our elected officials to act with integrity in this process and not hand off their authority to unelected and unaccountable parties,” said Burus. “ If they vote not to go mask optional, that’s fine, but at least they will be on the record asking questions and doing their duty in front of their constituents. “

This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 6:00 AM.