PITTSBURGH — On Wednesday, Pittsburgh Public Schools District hosted its March legislative meeting to discuss several important topics, from their current mask mandates to the district’s superintendent search.
“We revised the safety plan at the request of the board,” said Mike McNamara, the chief operating officer for the district.
On Monday, (March 21) parents and students urged board members to rethink masking for one group in particular — performing art students.
“We are allowing individuals participating in any theatrical or musical performance to remove their mask while performing,” said McNamara.
McNamara added,” Any individual not performing shall still wear a mask at all times indoors.”
Wednesday’s decision to allow theatre students to go maskless during shows comes just ahead of many spring musicals.
And while the move seemed like a reasonable request for the district, as it had not required student-athletes to wear masks all year, some board members disagreed.
“I think that the process to get to this point just didn’t sit well with me,” said board member Gene Walker.
Walker’s concerns sparked a larger conversation around the district’s current mask mandate. Some members even raised concerns about resources for additional testing.
Board members Jamie Piotrowski and Pam Harbin questioned if the district had enough resources for additional testing and if so, when it would be made available.
After lengthy discussion, board members opted to table the larger mask discussion for either the April meeting or even suggested looking into hosting a special separate meeting.
The board also voted to hire BWP & Associates as the professional consulting firm responsible for conducting the search process to identify candidates to fill the post of permanent superintendent.
District solicitor Ira Weiss stated that the cost of the superintendent search would not exceed $55,595. This figure is a far cry from the previous search, which cost upward of $91,000.
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