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BELLEFONTE -- A neighboring school district faced disruptions during its school board meeting last week.
Now, the Bellefonte Area School district will have a meeting of its own. The first regular school board meeting of the 2021-22 school year is scheduled for 7 p.m., tonight, at the Bellefonte Area Middle School cafeteria.
Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced that his administration was imposing a statewide mask requirement for all schools, kindergarten through 12th grade. Masks will be required for students, staff and visitors in public and private schools, early learning programs and childcare centers in Pennsylvania, beginning today. The mandate was imposed by order of the state's acting secretary of health, Alison Beam.
After the announcement was made, the Penns Valley School District held a work session. At the work session, a group of anti-masking parents refused to wear masks and state police at Rockview had to be called in.
Now, the Bellefonte school board will hold its first meeting since the mandate was announced last week.
In a letter to parents, students, families and staff, Bellefonte Area School District superintendent Tammie Burnaford addressed the controversial topic of masks in schools.
"According to the attorneys and the PA Department of Education, we legally must comply with the PA DOH order, including all sections of the order," Burnaford wrote in the letter.
She also said that she has been bombarded with emails from parents regarding the issue.
"Over the past two days, I have received hundreds of emails with parent concerns about wearing or not wearing masks, with questions about the legality of the mandate and about the consequences for those who do not wear masks on Tuesday, Sept. 7, when the PA Department of Health order becomes effective," Burnaford wrote.
She said that the district must follow the order "the best we can."
"Given all of this information and all the conversations I've had in the last 36 hours, I believe we must follow the order in our district the best we can, that includes all parts of the order," Burnaford said. "Briefly, the order is legally binding and we will require masks of all students and staff as described in the order beginning (today)."
In the letter, Burnaford said that the best way for the district to maintain in-person learning is for students to follow the mandate.
"We also know that in-person learning is best for most students. We are trying to legally meet the letter of the order, trying to keep our students in school, trying to meet the students' and parents' needs and still provide the highest quality education in an environment that is safe for both students and staff," Burnaford wrote. "We want to work with parents and while we know that the topic of masking is emotionally charged, we are in a very challenging situation. I continue to have the utmost respect for our parents, families, staff and students. I know that we can get through these trying times together."
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. The meeting is also streamed live through the district's website.