With the unprecedented 2020-21 academic year winding down and the June 4 graduation ceremony for the Saucon Valley senior class quickly approaching, commencement masking procedures, as well as general reflections on the past nine months,were the predominant topics at the May 25 school board meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Craig Butler kicked off the meeting with positive words for the entire district staff. “I want to celebrate the fact that we’ve had, in my opinion, a very successful year,” he said. He also specifically thanked the “fair number of teachers dedicating considerable time this summer” to professional development activities and for their “dedication to their craft and students.

“I feel very fortunate to be leading the district... and I know that we have been the envy of parents in other districts who wished they had their children in school,” Butler added. Saucon Valley was one of a small number of Pa. districts which has offered in-person learning for the entire school year.

However, the meeting was not without some contention. With the Pennsylvania Department of Health following CDC guidelines in revising its outdoor mask mandate to allow fully vaccinated individuals to go maskless as of mid-May, board member Edward Andres inquired about the district’s intent – or lack thereof – to revise its Health and Safety Plan concurrently.

Andres noted that the district’s current plan contains language which dictates the administration to consistently follow CDC guidelines. “We at least should have done a better job following… the revised guidelines” as they have been gradually loosened, he said. “I’ve heard that one explanation was that there were only a few weeks (of classes) to go and it wasn’t worthwhile to change. In my opinion, that explanation is not acceptable.”

Butler pressed back a bit, noting the potential difficulty in making such revisions so close to the end of the year. “The SVEA (Saucon Valley Education Association) has shared with me, on more than one occasion, their desire to continue for the balance of the school year with our current mitigation strategies,” he said. “Thinking of our students, particularly the younger (ones), changing procedures at that point… was something that I had some hesitation about.”

Andres did not ask for an immediate revision to affect the final week of classes in response, but fellow board member Bryan Eichfeld subsequently inquired about potentially revising or lifting masking requirements for graduates and attendees at the upcoming commencement ceremony. Graduation was scheduled for Friday, June 4 at Montford E. Illick Stadium, which is an outdoor athletic field on the district’s campus.

“The plan for graduation right now is for the audience to mask,” Butler answered. “But that’s not what the guidelines said,” Andres responded. “It should be a board decision” whether or not to deviate from the current Health and Safety Plan, Andres said, adding, “I don’t believe the administration has the authority to overrule what this board has voted on.”

Board member Shawn Welch pushed back mildly against Andres, asking him, “what is the specific change that the administration should reasonably adopt? What in the district’s policy would change right now?” Andres provided a hypothetical example of fully vaccinated grandparents who wish to remain unmasked while attending the ceremony.

Butler pointed to communication already released to the community regarding the ceremony, adding that the district’s intent is “not to play ‘masking police’ at graduation, but we don’t know who’s vaccinated and who isn’t. It’s an outside setting but people are going to be close together, and we’re just trying to provide the safest possible environment.

“I will say, I myself am not vaccinated,” Butler said, “so I will wear the mask out of respect for others.” Board president Susan Baxter added, “I think this is going to cause concern for 10 percent of our staff and 10 percent of our parents, and I don’t think it’s worth it.”

Ultimately, the board and administrators decided to make no revisions, and all students, staff and attendees will be expected to wear masks for the final week of the academic year and at graduation.