By SALINA POST
Salina USD 305 announced this morning that it will change to optional masking at all its facilities beginning Feb. 21.
According to a news release from the district this morning, Feb. 21 was selected as the date for the change to optional use of face masks to "meet the USD 305 Board of Education’s directive that families were to have a notice of three school days prior to the change." USD 305 has parent-teacher conferences scheduled on Feb. 17 and 18, so those days would not count as "school days."
The new optional masking rule will apply at all attendance centers unless the percentage of a particular school's positive COVID-19 cases reaches five percent. When the five percent threshold is reached, masking will be required at that particular school for a two-week period. Additionally, the school could return to optional masking in the second week if the percentage of positive COVID-19 cases drops below five percent, the district noted.
With the implementation of the optional masking policy on Feb. 21, district families will be notified on Fridays should their children's school need to change to required masking.
The district noted that in accordance with federal mandate masks will continue to be required on all school transportation, which includes buses and district vehicles.
As the district moves to optional masking, other safety practices will remain in place in USD 305 schools, according to information from the district. Those safety practices include the following.
•Self-screening at home before coming to school
•Handwashing frequently
•Using correct respiratory etiquette
•Sanitizing high touch areas
The district also noted that it is "developing a website dashboard that will report each building’s mask status and COVID-19 percent positive."