School board eyeing Feb. 21 for return to "mask optional" policy

With new COVID-19 cases in the school system down roughly two-thirds relative to several weeks ago, Superintendent Noris Price announced at Tuesday's regular School Board meeting that a "mask optional" policy is in the works. 

Price identified Feb. 21 as the possible date, assuming that case counts continue to fall in the school system and the community. 

The district began this school year back in August with a mask mandate only on school busses. After several days of school, however, masks once again were required inside of all school facilities. Those policies were eased as the semester went on. However, the stricter mask policy was brought back after students returned from Christmas break and currently remains in place. 

Unlike some other nearby counties, there hasn't been any organized protests from parents or palpable tension over the Baldwin County School District's mask policy here in Milledgeville.