Parents and guardians of students in the Aiken County School District received a survey on Sept. 13 regarding masks and vaccine mandates in their students’ schools.
Aiken County Schools Communications Coordinator Stephanie Behrendt said the survey had two questions: Would you support a mask mandate in Aiken County Public Schools? Would you support a vaccine mandate in Aiken County Public Schools?
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“The vaccine mandate would cover all eligible individuals under the CDC recommended guidelines,” Behrendt said.
The Board of Education will meet in regular session on Sept. 14, but a discussion of the survey is not included on the agenda. The agenda does include a COVID-19 update from Superintendent King Laurence.
The Aiken school district, along with others in South Carolina, are under restrictions imposed by the state legislature. Joint resolution 704 limits the districts’ ability to offer virtual learning. Additionally, a proviso in the state budget prohibits district from enacting a mask mandate or risk losing state funding.
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Discussion of a grant front the U.S. Department of Education offering alternative funding is on the Aiken board’s agenda. A Sept. 9 news release said the money will provide funding to school districts that are financially penalized for implementing policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The program, called Project SAFE, or Supporting America’s Families and Educators, are to help districts improve safety through strategies to reduce COVID-19 transmission.
“Every student across the country deserves the opportunity to return to school in-person safely this fall and every family should be confident that their school is implementing policies that keep their children safe,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardoza. “We should be thanking districts using proven strategies that will keep school open and safe, not punishing them.”
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Aiken County recently lost two students and one teacher to COVID-19. Two district employees also lost their husbands to the virus.
In a Sept. 7 special called meeting, eight board members voted unanimously to send a resolution to the state legislature asking it return control to the local board. District 2 member Jason Crane was not at the meeting.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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