On Monday, Sept. 13, we sent a one-question survey to parents, guardians and staff to give you an opportunity to voice your opinion about the use of masks in our schools. The survey closed at 5 p.m. for employees and 6 p.m. for parents on Sunday, Sept. 19.
Nearly 75% of our parents/guardians completed the survey, with 12,985 households responding. Lexington District One consists of about 17,500 households made up of 28,000 students.
Of those households, 69.8% 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.
As for staff, 81% completed the survey, with 69% agreeing the school board should consider a temporary mask requirement.
“For months, we have heard from a small and vocal group of parents and staff on both sides of the mask debate,” said Board of Trustees Chair Anne Marie Green. “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.”
Additional survey information will be shared at the school board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
