Contributed Photo Masks are now optional in the Marshalltown Community School District, given the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds passage of a law Wednesday night forbidding schools and local governments from having mask mandates.

Masks are no longer required in the Marshalltown Community School District.

Due to legislation passed by the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds Wednesday night, mask mandates are forbidden in schools and for local governments effective immediately.

Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) is highly recommending students and staff continue to wear masks for the remaining days of the 2020-21 school year, but cannot legally require them to be worn. The district’s last day of school is June 8.

“It was a surprise,” Superintendent Theron Schutte said. “Mainly because of the fact that most schools, if they haven’t already finished, have a couple weeks left. It seemed kind of odd that type of mandate directed at schools would be made in the last two weeks.”

On Monday at the Marshalltown Community School District Board of Education’s regular meeting, Schutte said the district would stay the course and make no changes to their COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

Last week, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) updated their COVID-19 safety guidance to recommend schools make masks optional, while the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended schools not make any changes to mitigation strategies for the remainder of the year.

MCSD is keeping other existing mitigation strategies in effect through the end of the school year. Students and staff are asked to do their best to social distance, use desk shields and wash their hands frequently. Students and staff are also asked to respect the choices of others regarding mask use in school. The outdoors high school graduation ceremony planned for May 30 will also have masks as optional at the event.

Schutte said the decision from Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature is a strike against local control of school districts.

“Local control as far as school districts are concerned, has always been vested in the eligible residents voting in people to represent them on the school board in order to make the decisions based on administrative recommendation,” Schutte said. “The legislature and governor’s office is now making decisions that used to be within the control of local communities and school boards versus the state.”

He said a vast majority of students within the district have not yet had the opportunity to become vaccinated. At least 82 percent of MCSD employees have received the vaccine from clinics facilitated by the district. Schutte knows more employees have received the vaccine outside of the school clinics.

“From the employee end, I think for the most part for people that were willing and able to get vaccinated, for their own health and safety, feel pretty comfortable,” Schutte said. “It’s more now about the students and their families.”

The district is hosting two upcoming vaccine clinics. The first is on Friday for students age 12 and older who have turned in a vaccine consent form to their school nurse’s office by Thursday.

The second is from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, and registered students from the Marshalltown, East Marshall, West Marshall and Green Mountain-Garwin public schools, as well as St. Francis Catholic School, will be able to get a vaccine at the Marshalltown High School Roundhouse.

“We’re really excited about the fact that we’re nearing the end of what will prove to be probably one of the most challenging school years on record,” Schutte said.

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Contact Trevor Babcock at 641-753-6611 or tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.