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As much as Thomas McInroy, Bellwood-Antis superintendent, doesn't like masking being an on-again, off-again issue, he believes that masks should stay on until the state Supreme Court makes a definitive decision on the Wolf administration's mask mandate.
The state's top court Tuesday stayed a lower court decision that would have lifted the mask mandate as Saturday while the Supreme Court hears an appeal.
McInroy said, "The district can't pick and choose which laws they can and can't follow. ... We don't have to like it, we just have to do it."
He stated that he and the other superintendents at IU8's 35 schools are tired of being stuck in the middle.
State troopers have no say in what speed limits are, so people wouldn't argue with one giving them a ticket for going 70 mph in a 55 mph zone that the driver thinks really should be 70 mph, McInroy said.
Altoona Area School District spokesperson Paula Foreman said the court decision to keep the mask mandate in place won't change anything for the district. She stated that the district would continue with its masking mandate until directed otherwise.
The high court said its decision was not the last word and may be reconsidered after it hears oral argument in the case next week. One of the court's two Republicans, Justice Sallie Mundy, dissented, while the other, Justice Thomas Saylor, did not participate.
Rather than focusing on masking requirements, McInroy said he wished people would worry more about getting children up to their proper grade level after dealing with learning loss due to the pandemic.
"I've never seen anything like this for the 16 years I've been superintendent here," McInroy said. "Before COVID, it was said that it would take students three years to recover from having a bad teacher, and now three school years have been affected by the pandemic."
This district and its teachers have not been able to dedicate the time necessary to help get kids up to grade level after the learning loss of the past three years, he said.
"They're the future, we've gotta get them up to speed," McInroy said. "That's more important than the political fights about masks."
However, even if the masking mandate goes away, the district's board-approved Health and Safety Plan will still be kept in place, McInroy said.
In a letter to parents and guardians posted on the Bellwood-Antis website, McInroy wrote that students, employees and visitors must wear masks until a court decision is made.
"We appreciate your understanding as we navigate these ever changing and difficult waters," McInroy wrote.
In a 4-1 ruling Nov. 10, Commonwealth Court sided with a top state Senate Republican leader and others who sued over the masking order by the state's acting health secretary, which took effect in early September.
The Commonwealth Court majority said acting Health Secretary Alison Beam lacked authority to require masks, that she did not comply with state laws about reviewing and approving regulations and that the mandate was adopted without an existing disaster emergency declared by the governor.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf announced last month he intends to return authority over masking decisions to local school districts in January, but will continue to require masks in child care centers and early learning programs.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458. The Associated Press contributed to this story.