Fayette County school board to address COVID-19 protocols

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The Fayette County Public School District is one of the last few Kentucky districts to keep its mask mandate.

But that policy could change on Wednesday, when the school board is holding a meeting to go over COVID protocols.

“It would be very interesting if they came back and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to make masks optional for Fayette County now.’ Am I holding my breath? No,” Fayette County parent Lisa Norris said.

With three kids in the Fayette County Public Schools system, Norris is waiting to see what decision the school board will make Wednesday night. So far, the board has held firm on their mask mandate, citing the high amount of cases and hospitalizations.

But now that Governor Andy Beshear said both are declining, the question is—will the school district’s mandate remain?

“They deserve an opportunity and the option to go maskless. I’m for parents that maybe they’re not ready for that. And that’s totally fine but give those parents the option or are fine and are ready to move on and move forward,” Norris said.

The topic was not on the board’s regularly scheduled Monday night meeting. Still, parents showed up and signed up to speak out against the mandate. Others spoke in favor of it. Now it will be formally discussed in a special meeting.

Norris said she’s pushing the issue after Mayor Linda Gorton’s lifted the mask mandate in city government buildings Tuesday.

“Nearly 74% of Lexington adults are fully vaccinated. Our seven-day average of new cases is currently lower than when I first put the mask mandate into place,” Mayor Gorton said.

Norris said many parents apart of the “Fayette County Kids Matter” Facebook group even plan to send their kids to school maskless Friday in protest if the mandate isn’t lifted.

We’ll keep you updated Wednesday on the school board meeting.

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