Mineola ISD Superintendent Cody Mize appealed for cooperation between the school and the families it serves on a number of COVID-19 mitigation measures at a public webinar meeting conducted Sept. 9. Mineola schools remain open, but the campuses are closed to visitation effective Monday, Sept. 13. 

Mize prefaced his comments by giving an update on the impact of COVID-19 on the Mineola campus. “This week we have 84 total active cases,” he reported, “which is up significantly from the 49 total active cases we had last week.”

The superintendent then shared some data from NETHealth which documented that there are an estimated 1,423 active cases in Wood County. He related that numerous school districts have already had one-week closures this year due to the virus.

“This Delta variant is a different animal,” Mize shared, “and we must exercise common sense and wisdom in dealing with it.”  

Mize declared that his goal for the district is to keep school open, and that doing so requires cooperation on seven mitigation measures. He then briefed each measure. They are hand-washing, social distancing, encouraging the wearing of masks, communications between families affected by COVID and the district, getting tested, minimizing the use of school buses, and closing the campuses to visitors. 

Each of these measures was described and examples offered to ensure that there was a “common sense” approach to each measure.  

Of specific note, Mize described that traditionally, a school would close down – as during past flu seasons – when the attendance had dropped from the normal 95% to 85%. He said that attendance is a critical factor and is measured daily, however, most schools which are forced to close do so due to staff and teacher shortages created by the virus.

Additionally, he reiterated that it was Texas Education Agency policy for a person to be quarantined 10 calendar days from onset of symptoms. Additionally, that person must be fever-free for 24 hours with no major symptoms before returning to campus. 

Following his remarks, Mize answered each of the 17 questions posed through the remote meeting. 

When asked about mandating the wearing of masks, Mize responded that the mandating of masks by a public school is against the law. Mineola will continue to encourage, but will never browbeat a student to wear a mask.     

With respect to remote learning, Mize stated that Texas Senate Bill 15 is presently being legislated and will have a significant effect on the future of remote schooling. 

Several questions dealt with testing. Mize said the district will accept test results from private physicians and clinics. He also reiterated that the school routinely tests and that the tests are free, non-intrusive, and provide rapid feedback. The district has already administered almost 500 tests this school year. 

The remote meeting ended with Mize thanking the community for continued support as the district works through today’s challenges. The complete session is posted on the Mineola ISD website.