Board approves mandate extension

CLINTON TOWNSHIP – On Monday, Clintondale Schools’ Board of Education unanimously voted, 7-0, to extend the temporary mask mandate until the end of February.

The current mandate, which has been in place throughout the district since Oct. 18, was set to expire on Jan. 31.

The decision to extend the mandate comes a week after the district’s five school buildings were closed last week when more than 20 faculty and staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

Clintondale students returned to their classrooms on Monday for the first time since Dec. 20 – the start of the holiday break.

“We are happy and excited to welcome our students and staff back into the buildings,” Superintendent Rodriguez Broadnax wrote in a letter sent to families last Friday. “However, please remember, the district is still under a temporary mask mandate and it is required that all staff and students wear masks/face coverings while in the buildings.”

In October, the board decided that a follow-up survey was necessary to reevaluate the original mandate.

The district emailed a second online survey to parents on Dec. 20 to gauge the community’s comfort level with continuing to mask students as Omicron’s rapid spread has created a series of new problems for Michigan and Macomb County. Four hundred parents answered the second survey – up 63.9% from the October survey. This time, more than 79% of parents, said they are in favor of a mask mandate, and 81.5% believe the school board should consider temporarily requiring masks in times of high-community spread in order to maximize in-person learning.

The district also asked about student vaccination information. More than two-thirds of parents stating either no or they do not plan to get their child(ren) vaccinated.

Are you in favor of a mask mandate for your child in the Clintondale Community School District?

	Oct 18, 2021	Jan 10, 2022
No	22.9%	20.7%
Yes	77.1%	79.3%

Should the Clintondale Community School District Board of Education consider temporarily requiring masks in times of high-community spread in order to maximize face-to-face learning?

	Oct. 18, 2021	Jan. 10, 2022
No	17.1%	18.5%
Yes	82.9%	81.5%

Is your child fully vaccinated?

	Oct. 18, 2021	Jan. 10, 2022
No	54.6%	49.6%
Yes	18.3%	21.9%
I do not plan on getting my child(ren) vaccinated	27.1%	28.5%

Has your child received at least one dose of a vaccine?

	Oct. 18, 2021	Jan. 10, 2022
No	81.7%	74.4%
Yes	18.3%	25.6%