Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
The Swain County Board of Education moved to make masks optional but subject to change in the future. They still encourage children, parents, and staff to receive the vaccine or wear masks and urge parents to be responsible for themselves and their children.
At a special called meeting on Thursday, July 29, Swain school board and the superintendent discussed COVID-19 and the new Delta variant with the looming start of the school year.
The board said there will be no remote learning except for students with significant health concerns for being in the classroom and no schedule A, B, or C plans.
Alison Cochran of Swain County Health Department spoke in front of the board and provided CDC information about current cases, vaccination rates and the new variant.
According to Cochran, who shared CDC information, there are currently 35 active cases in Swain County of COVID-19, most being the Delta variant.
“Governor Roy Cooper said last week that cases are increasing across the state as well as across the country. In Swain we have 35 active cases, Graham County has 30, Cherokee County has 66, Haywood 127, and Jackson 68,” Cochran said Thursday.
In total, since the start of COVID-19 pandemic, 173 positive cases in Swain County were among children ages 0-17. The CDC is now encouraging children ages 12 and up to be vaccinated and have approved Pfizer for that age and are expected to approve Moderna in the next couple weeks, according to Cochran.
“Ninety-four percent of current Covid cases in Swain County are unvaccinated people. Seventy-eight percent has been confirmed to be the Delta variant,” Cochran said.
The vaccine is less effective at preventing the more transmissible Delta variant, but those who are vaccinated are said to experience milder symptoms like the common cold, if infected.
“For example, if two children are in a classroom and they are both wearing a mask properly, if one child tests positive, the other does not have to quarantine as long as they are asymptomatic. If no one is wearing masks in the classroom and one child tests positive, anyone within three feet of that child must quarantine,” Cochran said.
Superintendent Mark Sale spoke of a survey about masks in school that was sent to staff. They received 209 responses, which is about two thirds of the total number of staff. One third of the staff who filled out the survey believe that masks should be required indoors, and two thirds preferred masks be optional.
Swain County is currently second, behind Haywood County for highest vaccination rate, with 40.7% of the population receiving some form of the vaccine, Cochran said.
At this time, most surrounding school systems have chosen a masks optional policy including Graham, Cherokee, Macon, Clay, and Haywood, except for Jackson County, which is mandatory.
At the Thursday meeting, school board member Cody White made a motion for masks to be optional but subject to change at any time if conditions deteriorate, which was seconded by Mitchell Carson and all members raised their hands in favor.
White added that they encourage anyone who is unvaccinated to wear a mask and all those eligible to be vaccinated to get vaccinated.
Carson said, “I would like to urge parents, faculty, and staff to please be responsible.”
In other business, the school board accepted the resignation of Lydia Jones Foust, Daniel Woods, Cola Williamson, Mary Ellen Helton and a leave of absence for Jennifer Chatham. They moved to employ Terry Walkingstick, Robbie Brown, Valeria Bates, Auburn Barker, Leah Jackson and Ryan McMahan.
The board received public comment from County Commissioner Kenneth Parton as a concerned citizen and parent.
“I do know the numbers that Ms. Cochran was speaking of, but I do not believe that the CDC recommendations are all true facts. They have changed them again, and again, and again through this whole pandemic, and if you go to the CDC and look up what are the benefits of getting vaccinated and under their data, they will give you links, and they will also tell you they are still studying. Everything here is still a study. There is no definite,” Parton said.
He went on to say that he has heard people say vaccines will keep you from getting COVID and how he believes that is not true.
“Everybody should be responsible for themselves, but I do not think we should treat people differently if they question getting a vaccine,” Parton said.
He also said this vaccine is different than any before and not studied for a long period of time like other vaccines. He ended by thanking the board for letting him speak and for what they are doing for the community.
Superintendent Sale said, “I just want to speak to Mr. Parton as a commissioner and not a citizen. I appreciate the support that you’ve given us and the $188,000 that the commission has allotted us for reading assistance that is making an impact. It is going to be significant this year, I believe, and my intent is to bring you the numbers soon to show you what affect that had in a difficult year.”
The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting will be Tuesday, August 9, but there may be more special called meetings this month, as school is set to begin for students, Monday Aug. 16.