Cobb school board member: District will be requiring masks

Cobb school board member Charisse Davis

Cobb Board of Education member Charisse Davis said Tuesday that the Cobb County School District will be requiring masks after all.

Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, announced on her Facebook page that masks will be required for students and staff, and that “exemptions will be granted as needed. That is all the information I have right now from the superintendent.”

The district has not made an announcement; East Cobb News has contacted a district spokeswoman, and here’s the response she provided:

“While information was provided to the Cobb Board of Education, it was not meant to be released publicly at this time. In an effort to be as accurate as possible, we will continue to provide details for the 2020-2021 school year when those details are finalized.”

Last week Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said that while mask use would be “absolutely” encouraged, he was not making it mandatory.

Shortly after that, Marietta City Schools said masks would be required. On Monday, the University System of Georgia also mandated masks for staff and students at all of its campuses, including Kennesaw State University.

Some private schools, such as Mt. Bethel Christian Academy, have said masks will be mandated only when students are moving from class to class but that they will not have to wear them in classrooms.

Davis’ message was shared on a Facebook group devoted to Cobb schools topics, and many parents approved. Others expressed concerns about making young children wear them. One commenter said she is a Cobb schools teacher who hasn’t been told anything about a mask mandate.

There is an online petition that’s demanding that Cobb schools add a mask-wearing to the district’s dress code, and it’s received more than 1,000 signatures.

Cobb schools will be starting on Aug. 17, two weeks later than the previously scheduled start to the school year.