Superintendent Grotting Discusses COVID-19 Pandemic and District Masking Protocol
By Ethan Tsai
Mar. 15 — On March 14, 2022, the Beaverton School District implemented a mask-optional policy. While this announcement has satisfied many students, parents, and staff, many students fear that the policy could cause COVID-19 cases to rise and potentially force a return to CDL. Superintendent Grotting and district management have cooperated with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) when making decisions on masking policy, and the Departments of Health and Education have also assisted with district regulations.
Accompanying the March 14th change in masking, the district has rolled out a campaign titled “Either Way, It’s Ok,” which encourages community acceptance of students regardless of their masking decision. However, there are still some specific requirements for going mask optional for staff members: unvaccinated staff may have to take COVID-19 tests to continue their work. Additionally, there are plans to purchase air purifiers and specialized masks, which would be fitted correctly to provide the best possible protection. These are primarily for staff and students already immune-compromised and whose health will potentially be jeopardized by students and teachers who choose to go mask-optional.
The district plans to set up an FAQ page for the community and school staff to help those wanting vaccinations, tests, or information about district protocol. BSD will also continue its optional weekly testing program despite low registration numbers.
When asked about his confidence in the district’s ability to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, Superintendent Grotting told The Scroll, “I think we’ve responded well under the circumstances…everything was changing so quick, and some of the guidance that we would [receive] we would have to implement the next day…and sometimes when you have to implement that quickly, you make some mistakes…if we had a little more time in between some of those changes we would have been able to do better job, [however,] under the circumstances we have done very well.”
Superintendent Grotting also expressed sympathy for students who have lost loved ones and those who have had their normal high school experience interrupted. “Over the last couple of years…some of our students have their senior years stolen from them, missed activities such as proms, dances, awards ceremonies, graduations…that probably bugged me the most, watching some students see their last two years interrupted by COVID,” Grotting stated.
However, when asked about the future of the district’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Superintendent Grotting remains optimistic. Aside from occasional anti-vaxxing or anti-masking opposition to previous district protocol, in which Grotting says the district “held its ground,” the superintendent believes that there has been an impressive amount of support from the community.
