ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Board of Education will meet for a Special Called Meeting on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 at 6:30 pm at the R. Alton Cox Resource Center Auditorium at Randolph Community College. According to a release from the school system, the meeting is for the purpose of discussing the school mask mandate which has been in place since the start of the school year.
The school board will hear information from the Randolph County Board of Health which precedes a vote on the system-wide mask policy, according to the announced agenda. The county Board of Health recently sent a letter to all citizens in Randolph County which said that there are “Rising COVID cases in all ages.” The letter said the board met in September and their “discussion wasn’t just about numbers or statistics” but was about “taking care of ourselves, our family and friends, and our neighbors.” The letter told recipients to “wear a face covering indoors in public places and in crowded outdoor spaces.” The letter was delivered this week as Gov. Roy Cooper told North Carolinians the state has seen cases “taper off.” The CDC also reported that Randolph County’s COVID case trend mirrors the national trend which shows a steady decline in weekly cases since early September.
According to a report from Raleigh’s WRAL, Harnett County, which dropped it’s mask mandate October 5, has seen a 36% drop in COVID cases after dropping the mask mandate. Stanly County Schools voted last week to make masks optional.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services published guidance this week saying vaccinated students and staff did not have to wear masks if communities transmission was low enough.
Public Comments will be permitted at the meeting and the public will also be able to access the meeting via live stream on the district’s home page at www.randolph.k12.nc.us.
