LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — A majority of Lexington School District One parents would be in favor of a temporary mask mandate to curb COVID infections, according to a survey released by the district.
Lexington School District One's Board of Trustees sent a one-question survey to households in the district in order to gauge the community's response to a temporary mask mandate in schools.
The survey was sent out to approximately 17,500 households in the district that contains 28,000 students. Sent out on Monday, Sept. 13, parents and guardians had until 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, to respond to the survey.
The results:
- of the surveys sent out, 12,985 households -- 75% -- responded
- of those households responding, 68.9% agreed that the Lexington District One Board of Trustees should consider temporarily requiring masks in times of high community spread (as designated by DHEC) in order to maximize face-to-face learning
- of the 81% of staff completing the survey, 69% agreed with the school board.
Board of Trustees Chair Anne Marie Green said, “For months, we have heard from a small and vocal group of parents and staff on both sides of the mask debate. We wanted to know how our entire community truly felt about masking. The results of this survey reveal that an overwhelming majority of our families and staff are in favor of our local school board being able to implement a temporary mask requirement to keep students and staff safe during periods of high community spread. During our September meeting, we will consider a resolution urging the General Assembly to repeal Proviso 1.108 to restore local control in this matter. If adopted, this will enable school boards to react quickly when our communities are experiencing high spread of the virus and equip us to better protect our students and staff.”
More data from the survey will be shared at the scheduled Lexington School District One school board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 21.