Quincy Reporter

Quincy School District 172, which includes eight schools and 6,324 students, is now mask-optional.

The announcement came Saturday in an letter to parents by District Superintendent Roy Webb, in response to a Sangamon County court ruling late Friday that declared Gov. J.B. Pritzker's school student mask requirement "null and void."

"Those refusing to wear a mask will not be excluded from school," Webb wrote. "Masks will be recommended on Monday, for any student or staff, but are not required, and we will not be excluding students for not wearing a mask."

"For masks to be effective, they must be a proper mask, a proper fit, and consistent use. Our students have done an amazing job in school. They have been content and compliant," wrote Webb. "Yet their masks are sometimes not of the proper type, they often slip below the nose or below the chin, and to be honest, many of our students only wear their mask in school."

"Simply our geographic location on the Missouri and Iowa border makes mask enforcement a daily challenge for staff and administration. If you go to any event in our area, few masks are worn," he said. "All the enforcement has fallen to the schools. Enforcement will now be even more difficult, if not impossible."

"The ruling stated that to enforce the orders, it would take individual court orders with support of the ACHD. Not feasible for QPS," wrote Webb.

In a 30-page ruling Friday night, Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow declared Pritzker's blanket state emergency school rules on masks and tests through the Illinois Department of Public Health "null and void." She said the governor and his agencies have been mandating rules upon students illegally.

“Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of Executive Orders and Emergency Rules … This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain," she wrote.

"Does that Face Mask Really Protect You," a 2010 research article by Dr. Larry E. Bowen of the Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, Ala., fit various types of masks on a mannequin to study their effectiveness, found that wearing surgical, bandana and dust masks offer "very little protection" and concluded that "wearing these face masks may produce a false sense of protection."

Webb, 59 was hired in 2015 as Quincy Public Schools' Superintendent. He previously worked as Superintendent of Canton Union School District 66 and in Chadwick-Milledgeville School District. He started his career as a middle school English teacher in Aledo.

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Read Superintendent Roy Webb's full letter to parents:

Blue Devil Family,

On Friday late afternoon, a Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge issued a ruling on a legal challenge involving requirements for masking and close contact exclusions in schools and testing of unvaccinated employees. A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was issued stating these requirements and safety methods should NOT be used. The ruling also stated Governor Executive Orders 18, 22, and 24 are deemed null and void.

Quincy Public Schools was named as a defendant in this hearing along with many other school districts, the Governor, The Illinois Department of Health, and the Illinois State Board of Education. Quincy Public Schools will follow the TRO and the intent of the TRO. Masks will be recommended on Monday, for any student or staff, but are not required, and we will not be excluding students for not wearing a mask. We will continue to work with Adams County Health Department on COVID close contacts. We had a previous court ruling in Adams County and have since followed those procedures which meet the order of both court rulings. We will cease any weekly testing of unvaccinated employees. 

The judge in this case did state that the plaintiffs did not reach the criteria for a class action suit. This means it should only impact the five Quincy families that brought the suit. QPS feels the ruling should impact all students and families. QPS will treat all QPS students the same regarding this TRO. Those refusing to wear a mask will not be excluded from school. 

We acknowledge the great tragedy of COVID. I have lost close friends, as has many in the Blue Devil Family. We have done all we can to keep children safe, especially our most vulnerable. Our prayers are that the vaccine will do that now for our students still at risk. We live in the western part of the state. I cannot debate medicine, but I can debate children. For masks to be effective, they must be a proper mask, a proper fit, and consistent use. Our students have done an amazing job in school. They have been content and compliant. Yet their masks are sometimes not of the proper type, they often slip below the nose or below the chin, and to be honest, many of our students only wear their mask in school. Simply our geographic location on the Missouri and Iowa border makes mask enforcement a daily challenge for staff and administration. If you go to any event in our area, few masks are worn. All the enforcement has fallen to the schools. Enforcement will now be even more difficult, if not impossible. The ruling stated that to enforce the orders, it would take individual court orders with support of the ACHD. Not feasible for QPS. 

QPS will continue to work with the ACHD on COVID Close Contacts. 

QPS will cease testing the unvaccinated staff.

We do all this at some risk. We expect to hear from many of you, upset with this decision. I encourage you to reach out to me and the board of education. This statement is vetted and supported by them. The Governor has already stated his intent for a very quick appeal of this decision. We also expect to hear from the ISBE. We feel we have the legal grounds, with this court ruling to support these actions.

It has been a crazy two years. This court case is just one small chapter. I understand the plaintiffs’ actions. They disagreed with our position and actions and took us to court. They did not belittle us, they simply asked for a judge to rule. That is a proper and legal course.

Now, let’s get on with the education of our children. Maybe we can inspire a few doctors, a few lawyers, a few politicians among our Blue Devils to lead us in the future. Thank you for your support and understanding and reading this long statement with no jokes included. 

Respectfully,

Roy Webb

QPS

LTFMUR