HWDSB trustees pass motion to ask students and staff to wear masks

The new Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) trustees came short of imposing a mask mandate in their first meeting on Monday evening but did pass a motion to ask students and staff to mask in all public school board buildings — a change from the current passive approach on face coverings.

HWDSB Ward 2 trustee Sabreina Dahab originally introduced a motion to impose a mask mandate shortly after trustees were sworn in. Dawn Danko was elected as chair and Maria Felix Miller as vice chair of the board. 

"As a school board, we have a responsibility to the health and wellbeing of students and staff," Dahab said, adding how COVID-19 has hit marginalized communities harder.

The motion was met with applause from some of the roughly 60 people watching. A few audience members held a sign that read "mandate masks."

There have been renewed calls for mask mandates in light of viral illness trends and pressures on hospitals.

McMaster Children's Hospital said last week previously operating at over 140 per cent and emergency department visits measuring

However, HWDSB director Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini she didn't "think it would be feasible" to enforce a mask mandate because the province and public health aren't putting forward a mandate.

The Ontario government dropped masking requirements in most settings, including schools, on March 21.

HWDSB was one of the few school boards that kept mandates in place for a while longer before stopping.

Chair Danko and Ward 1 trustee Elizabeth Wong were among those who said they liked the spirit of the motion to impose a mask mandate but preferred deferring the decision to a meeting in the near future.

Paul Tut, trustee for Ward 13, and Todd White, trustee for Ward 5 and 10, strongly advocated for a mandate and said there's no need to wait.

"No one is going to make the decision for us," Tut said, adding that the board needs to show some courage.

"Let's be leaders."

Student trustee Aisha Mahmoud said students, herself included, have been getting sick and falling behind in school.

Fellow student trustee Gloria Li said while HWDSB schools are supposed to be "mask friendly," people who wear face coverings feel pressure to take them off when no one else in the class is wearing one.

The motion eventually evolved into the board asking students and staff to wear masks, rather than forcing it.

Only Ward 4 Trustee Ray Mulholland opposed the motion. He declined to answer questions about why.