Majority of school districts in Yuma County keeping mask mandate in place

News 11's Adonis Albright speaks with parents & superintendents across the county to get their reaction

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Most, if not all school districts in Yuma County opted to keep the mask mandate in place for the remainder of the school year after Governor Doug Ducey (R - Ariz.) gave individual districts the green light to make their own decision. News 11 spoke with several superintendents across the county, who say the move is part of each individual school district's COVID-19 mitigation strategy.

It's an issue that parents are undoubtedly passionate about, but not all of them are onboard with that decision.

“I don’t think masks should be mandatory or anything like that, but I think that the kids that want to wear them, or parents that want them to wear it, they can. Or they can also just continue to keep them at home until they feel that it’s safe", said Jennifer Alvarez, a parent whose kids are part of the Gadsden Elementary School District.

“I don’t feel like it’s healthy for them long-term to be wearing a mask all day sitting down. But I also feel like they need to learn, they need to be in community with their teachers and their peers", said Deanna Buoniconti, another parent News 11 spoke with who has four children currently attending Desert View Academy.

The majority of school districts across Yuma County are citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) guidance to continue wearing face masks and maintain social distancing protocols.

“At that time specifically, there was still guidance from the CDC saying that masks in school were a recommendation, we take that recommendation seriously, obviously it’s referenced in our mitigation plan", said Eric Patten, the Chief Communications Officer with Yuma Union High School District (YUHSD).

Laurie Doening, the Superintendent of the Crane Elementary School District, said despite the mixed reactions from parents about the decision, her district felt it was important to finish the school year strong. This is of particular importance, according to Doening, because of the threat of a new COVID-19 variant that potentially poses a greater risk to children.

“There’s also those new variants that seem to spread more with children and young adults, so we really feel like we need to know more before we make such a drastic change."

With roughly four weeks left in the 2020 to 2021 school year, school districts across Yuma County tell News 11 that the face mask requirement will be reevaluated over the summer. There's hope from some parents who want kids back in the classroom that face masks will be optional, rather than mandatory.