CLAFLIN — By a vote of 4 to 3, the Central Plains USD 112 board of education voted Monday to maintain the district’s face mask mandate.

Before the vote, Brad Schiermeyer, board president, said according to a reopening plan previously approved by the board, masks are required for USD 112 students and facility until the end of the school year.

However, at a Zoom special meeting conducted by the board Saturday morning, approval was given to lift the mask mandate for the Central Plains Junior-Senior High School Prom taking place later that evening. Similar action is expected for the upcoming Wilson School Prom.

Superintendent Greg Clark said Kansas Senate Bill 40 gives local school boards the right to decide whether masks will be worn or not. He said according to the Kansas Association of School Boards, if somebody were to file a grievance against the district stating they don’t want masks to be worn by students and faculty, the board could deny that grievance because it has not changed the mask mandate policy within 30 days.

“If you change it (the policy) to no masks, somebody could file a grievance with the district saying I want to have masks in school,” Clark said. “You (the board) would have 72 hours to hear that grievance.”

If the board decided to uphold the no mask policy, Clark said the matter could be taken to civil court, and the court would have 72 hours to hear the case. He said because of a backlog of cases, attorneys don’t believe that could take place in that time frame.

“If they (the court) don’t hear it, the plaintiff (the person who wants face masks) wins,” he added.

John Sherman, USD 112 board attorney, put it simply.

“If you change the policy, you open the door,” he said.

Clark said he has talked to local legislators about SB 74.

“It’s a poorly written bill, a poorly thought through bill, not well thought through at all,” he said.

Clark said there is a student at Wilson School with COVID-19. As a result, several other students had to be quarantined as well.

Clark said Kerianne Ehrlich, supervisor of the Ellsworth County Health Department, told him if students and faculty had not been wearing masks, there would have been a lot more individuals quarantined.

“I want kids in the buildings, in the building I work in and the buildings in this district,” said board member Tami Schepmann. “We did not get finished last year and many people missed out on many different things. I would hate for my biological kids, my students, their friends, anyone in the district to be forced to miss something because of a quarantine. I know that’s a risk. It may happen, it may not happen. I just think that is something we need to consider. There is a potential that part of our senior class may have to miss graduation.”

Schepmann said it is 30 days or less until graduation.

“I would like to see us get this year finished,” she added.

Schiermeyer agreed. “As a parent, for me it would definitely be worth wearing a mask for 30 more days,” he said.

“There is no right answer,” said board member Tony Zink. “The one thing that concerns me about lifting the mask requirement is that we don’t have any control — that somebody other than ourselves is going to make a decision on what response happens with a student who has come down with COVID.”

Zink said if the board lifts the mask mandate and the district sees more positive cases, the district could end up with more students being quarantined than would have had the mask mandate be left in place.

For those reason, Zink said he was in favor of leaving the mask mandate in place until the end of the school year.

Board member Jacob Charvat said he has to listen to the voters who put him on the board. As such, he would lean more toward making masks optional.

In other business: • Approval was given to Wilson baseball and softball teams forming and playing in Spring 2022.

Tony Brokes, the school’s athletic director, said the two programs will cost about $16,000. So far, 11 students have expressed a desire to play softball, with 13 students choosing baseball.

• Approval was given to republish the 2020-21 budget.

Clark said that is necessary because of the increase in credits Graduation Alliance has received since the beginning of the school year.

Clark said 1,000 credits were listed on the original budget. As of last Friday, Graduation Alliance has 1,558 credits.

“This is all money that comes from the state,” he said. “It would increase the budget $757,040, for a new budget of $1,624,856.”

Out of that amount, USD 112 will receive $157,000 to $160,000.

• A donation of beef was approved from the Hipp’s Farm and the Thielen Farm.

“That saved the district a lot of money to get those,” Clark said.

• Membership in the KASB and the legal assistance fund was approved at a cost of $9,192.61 for the membership and $2,300 for the legal assistance fund.

• A $9,780 bid from Von Lintel to refinish the gym floors in the district was approved.

• Approval was given to the resignation of Rose Duvall as a cook at Central Plains Elementary School in Holyrood.

• Approval was given to hire substitute teachers Ramon Gilbert and Ashleigh Cornett.

• Approval was given to the Central Plains High School senior skip day.

• Approval was given to hire Sheila Franson as a cook at CPES.