The Smackover-Norphlet School District has made masking on school premises optional, effective Friday, April 9.
In a unanimous vote, the Smackover-Norphlet School Board chose to end mandated masking for the district at a specially-called meeting Thursday evening.
The district is the first in Union County to do so.
“This is definitely something we will continue to navigate, we are not going to be able to please everyone,” Superintendent Jason Black said. “There were 58 teachers that did not want to go maskless. Some are in that age bracket where COVID is still a big concern for them. We are going to do our best to navigate this going forward.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson lifted a statewide mask mandate, implemented to mitigate community spread of COVID-19, that had been in effect since last year in late March, but left the option open for schools to maintain mandated masking.
The SNSD took a survey from parents, students, community members and other interested parties on their feelings about masking before coming to their decision. Black said the majority of parents and staff surveyed wanted masks to be optional. He also said that over 60% of staff have been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine.
This is a developing story. The News-Times will continue to update as more information becomes available.