NORWAY — The Norway-Vulcan School Board on Wednesday delayed a decision on requiring all or younger students and staff wear face masks when indoors to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.

The board now plans to have a Committee of the Whole meeting starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, again in the fine arts center auditorium, to further discuss the issue and hopefully gather more coronavirus health statistics and data on how other school districts in the region are handling the matter. The regular board meeting is pushed back to 7 p.m.

The board set Wednesday’s special two-hour meeting to take public comment on whether to reinstate a mask requirement in light of the more contagious delta strain now causing a surge of new cases in the region.

With children younger than 12 not able to get the vaccine and older students not required to be vaccinated, it leaves a number of grades vulnerable to catching the coronavirus, school officials said.

“We recognize the necessity to have this conversation,” school board president Cory Heigl told the crowd of about 35 people.

Most who chose to comment on the suggested mask requirement said they feared the possible adverse effects of wearing a mask more than the risk of their child getting COVID-19, which they saw as slight.

Several mentioned they had children with speech issues that require they both see their teachers’ mouths and that their mouths be visible to work out how they are forming words.

They also questioned how healthy it is for a child to wear a mask for hours, breathing through cloth that might collect all manner of bacteria by being touched during the day. Some claimed their children had conditions such as asthma that were aggravated by the masks, or suffered headaches or dizziness while wearing one.

“I just believe our children don’t need to wear masks in school,” Jo Huddleston said.

A few said they would teach their children at home, as was done during the shutdown periods, if the district reinstated a mask requirement.

“If you make it mandatory, you will lose a lot of students at this school,” Gino Seratti predicted, although he admitted one of his kids “likes the camo” masks.

Most who spoke against requiring masks claimed as well there was no evidence to prove the fabric variety is truly effective against COVID-19 or that the coronavirus is any worse of a threat to healthy children than flu or other common illnesses.

“COVID is not going anywhere,” said Jared Whisler of Loretto. “We’re going to have to learn to live with it.”

Ultimately, parents should make the decision, opponents of the mask requirement said, adding that parents who thought the masks offered protection can have their children wear one.

But one parent, Chelsea Thoreson, reported her child had been teased and bullied about wearing a mask, coming home in tears. The students will suffer more, she said, if a new coronavirus spike among students forces the school to shut down.

Board members in turn faulted the state and federal government for not making this a clear mandate, instead leaving local school boards to make health decisions when they don’t have the expertise — and face the opposition.

“I’m not an epidemiologist — I’m a forester,” board member Bill O’Brion noted.

Several on the board argued the students learn best in school, so the district should take whatever steps it can to prevent COVID from spreading, including masks.

“One way to keep children in their seats, in their classroom, is by wearing a mask,” board member Jenny DeDecker said.

Not requiring it for all students will reduce the effectiveness and create an atmosphere of bullying and intimidation, board member Joe Rake said.

But his motion to require masks be worn by all grades in all indoor school facilities and on buses, starting Tuesday after the Labor Day holiday break, failed on a 2-5 vote, with only he and board member Jan VanGasse in favor.

Several board members said they needed more information on what levels of coronavirus activity in the schools should trigger this or further steps. O’Brion noted at this time only one student, in high school, has been confirmed as a COVID-19 case.

“That’s the primary reason I voted no tonight, is that I don’t have the data tonight to vote yes,” board member Brady Gustafson said.

The board directed Superintendent Lou Steigerwald to reach out to other school districts on their policies, with Steigerwald adding he and other superintendents will meet Friday. He also will try to get more data from the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department on COVID-19 activity in the region.

Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 240, or bbloom@ironmountaindailynews.com.