The first day of the masks-optional policy reportedly went well in the Northampton Area School District.

“Today (Dec. 13) was the first school day for the masks-optional policy,” NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik told The Press in a phone interview Dec. 13.

“I talked with the principals this afternoon. I asked what the percentage was of students wearing face coverings,” Kovalchik said. “Across the board, about 60 percent of the students were still wearing face coverings. And it was about 85 percent of our staff in each building who were wearing face coverings.”

The federal mandate requiring face masks on public transportation, which includes school buses, remains in effect. In NASD, face masks are also required in nurses’ suites and athletic training areas in school buildings.

There’s no enforcement in NASD for wearing or not wearing face masks.

“It’s a choice for the parents and the students,” Kovalchik said. “With that being said, we still have the board-approved mitigation chart.”

The board of education voted 8-1 Dec. 6 to end the NASD face-mask mandate in the district Jan. 18, 2022, or sooner. For NASD, it was sooner rather than later. And NASD was ready.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf stated Nov. 8 that the commonwealth K-12 school buildings face-mask requirement was to return to local leaders?Jan. 17, 2022. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Dec. 10 to uphold a lower court’s decision that the commonwealth acting health secretary had no legal jurisdiction to impose the statewide K-12 school buildings face-mask mandate.

Kovalchik notified parents and guardians Dec. 10 of the face-masks optional policy.

“Effective at this time, the wearing of face coverings in district buildings is optional. The district will use the mitigation chart to determine if face coverings would be required in the future at a particular school,” Kovalchik reported. “The district is asking parents if their child has symptoms regarding any illness to consult their physician and stay home from school if necessary.”

He reported he will be in communication with the Pennsylvania Department of Health throughout the remainder of the school year.

“If the situation would change in the coming weeks based on the metrics in the mitigation chart and discussions with the department of health, you will be notified by me,” Kovalchik said in the Dec. 10 communication to parents and guardians.

The plan, mitigation chart and mitigation strategies are on the NASD website, drive.google.com/file/d/1Q15cXqNjJmXZ45m0NLg4ghl9tVYpQ6ML/view.

“This is still a fluid situation. Every day I have discussions with the principals and the school nurses about all the factors in the mitigation chart,” Kovalchik said. “What we haven’t seen is an evidence of community spread. Even though the numbers were a little higher after Thanksgiving, we didn’t have community spread within the schools. If there’s substantial community spread, we’re going to have to consult with the department of health.”

The NASD COVID-19 seven-day building totals, Dec. 7-Dec. 13, as of Dec. 13, are: Northampton Area High School, 28; Northampton Area Middle School, 12; Borough Elementary Schools, 12; Moore Elementary School, 3; Lehigh Elementary School, 7; George Wolf Elementary School, 6; district administration building, 0. Year-to-date NASD positive cases are 485.

The NASD board of education next meets 6:30 p.m. Dec. 20 in the NAHS auditorium, 1619 Laubach Ave.