ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — If education officials in the Fort Zumwalt School District were hoping for a strong opinion on whether to continue a mask mandate, they’re out of luck.
The Fort Zumwalt School District Board of Education released results Monday of a district-wide survey that was sent to thousands of staff members and families. And in both categories, the results were nearly evening split.
The district asked, “Which of the following statements do you agree with most?” and gave two options for an answer:
- In Fort Zumwalt schools, masks should be required for students and staff.
- In Fort Zumwalt schools, masks should be optional for students and staff.
Families were slightly more in favor of requiring masks, with less than a 1% difference in responses.
Fort Zumwalt families survey results:
- Required: 50.36%
- Optional: 49.64%
* 6,299 responses
Staff members were slightly more in favor of keeping them optional, but the margin of difference was within 2%.
Fort Zumwalt staff survey results:
- Required: 49.1%
- Optional: 50.9%
*1,891 responses
Everyone who participated in the survey could leave a comment to further explain their thoughts on continuing a mask mandate. Comments ranged widely from families being thankful for being given the opportunity to share their thoughts, to others who were upset it’s up for debate at all.
“We should have a CHOICE!” one staff member commented.
“I believe in the SCIENCE!” another school district employee said.
Parents were especially vocal about their thoughts on how the school district should proceed.
“The #1 goal of the Board should be to provide the safest learning environment possible for the students and at this point masks are the only option. Time to do what is right and not necessarily what is popular,” one parent said.
"I feel the decision whether to wear or not wear a mask should be the parent's responsibility and not the school's responsibility to mandate it,” commented another parent.
“I honestly want to pick both options. I would prefer my child not have to wear a mask but I also can’t be home every other week because they have to quarantine due to a potential exposure,” one parent wrote.
Many families wished for some kind of compromise in the school district and asked for masks to be mandatory for those who can’t yet get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I would like to see masks required for grades 6 & below to help lessen quarantines for our children who are not yet eligible for vaccination,” one member of the school district community wrote.
The Fort Zumwalt School Board approved a monthlong mask mandate for all students and staff throughout the district back on Sept. 20.
The mandate was approved by a 4-3 vote and will be in place until the next regularly scheduled school board meeting on Oct. 18, where the policy will be re-evaluated. The policy covers every school from pre-K through 12th grade.
Before the vote, the Fort Zumwalt School District was encouraging students to wear masks, but they were not required.
See the full results of Fort Zumwalt's survey sent to families on the school district's website here. And check out the full results of the survey sent to school district staff members online here.