The head of Monroe County’s superintendents’ council says a mask mandate was expected

Henrietta, New York — According to the head of Rush-Henrietta schools and president of the Monroe County Council of School Superintendents, a mask mandate from the state was expected.

While there has been pushback from some families in some districts, Lawrence “Bo” Wright says masking is a small price to pay.

“We feel very good about where schools are heading into this week and next week so we’re really excited to welcome our students and staff back,” he said. “I think in so many respects this is going to feel like a typical school year other than the fact that to start the school year we’re going to have to mask up. But we can do that.”

He hopes families that don’t agree with the mandate will respect the decision and follow the rules.

Wright added that this is out of local leaders’ hands because it’s a directive from the state.

“The priority over the course of the past 18 months has been to return to 5 day-a-week, in-person instruction – and we’re finally here,” Wright said.

A mother of three from East Rochester, Kayla Schneider says that this year will be anything but typical. Two of her three children, she says, are old enough to make their own decisions about wearing a mask. They have agreed to it and will be back in the classroom this fall, but she has decided to homeschool her youngest.

“I never thought in my wildest dreams I would be homeschooling my daughter – or even if I have to for the boys,” she said. “I want them in the public school system. But we as parents should have the choice of what is going to happen with our children.”

“If it means that our kids are going to be able to be in school full time – and that has to wear a mask at least to start the school year, to make sure that everyone’s safe, then I think in the minds of most people, that’s a reasonable trade-off,” he added.

Monroe County recorded 221 new cases on Sunday, Aug. 29. At this time last year, the county was recorded around a dozen cases per day.

Countywide, Wright said between 80 and 90 percent of school district employees have been vaccinated.