WINDSOR, Colo. — Grandview Elementary in Windsor is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. As of Tuesday, the school has 23 COVID-19 cases and one entire classroom has switched to remote learning and is in quarantine.
The same day an outbreak was announced by the Weld RE-4 School District, the school board was discussing if masks will be incorporated in schools. Currently, face masks are optional for students at Weld RE-4.
Some parents told Denver7 any option that keeps their kids in the classroom should be considered.
"We’ve had a rocky year in general. We lost my grandmother to COVID last year, so we’re just really hesitant about COVID," said Liz Veucasovic.
Liz Veucasovic’s son, Calvin, is going to preschool at Grandview Elementary. For them, the pandemic is personal after losing a pillar in their family.
"We wear masks so that nobody has to go through what we went through. So that nobody else loses their grammy," said Veucasovic.
Even though Calvin is wearing his mask to school, it’s not something that is required in Weld County or across the school district. This makes the news of an outbreak even more concerning for some parents.
"I'm really nervous because the numbers just came in yesterday from our email from the school" said Jen Petrik, who has a 7-year-old child attending Grandview.
Currently at Grandview Elementary, there’s a total of 23 cases of COVID-19. Nine of them coming from one classroom that started remote learning Tuesday morning and will be quarantined until Sept. 7.
For Petrik, who also started sending her 7 year old to school with a mask, it’s crucial that he’s able to receive in-person instruction.
"I’m just really hoping that more parents will just see that it's going to be better for all of us if we just keep our kids safe and we just put on the mask," said Petrik.
Weld RE-4 School District officials said once four students test positive in a classroom, the entire classroom has to go remote. Even if there’s one COVID-19 case in a classroom, they will notify parents.
Following a school board meeting Tuesday night, the board voted to approve an interim resolution to require masks in certain circumstances. Schools will be evaluated on a rolling two-week window, and if any school is found to have a positive case rate at or above 3%, based on individual current enrollment, schools will be required to implement a mask requirement for two weeks. If the positivity rate drops below 3% following the two weeks, masks will no longer be required.
"We are definitely keeping track of the situation, monitoring as we said we would from the start, and then notifying folks so they can make personal decisions," said Weld RE-4 school district spokesperson Lisa Relou. "Our focus in the Weld RE-4 School District of course is, first and foremost, the safety and health of our staff and students. We’re also focused on maintaining in-person learning as much as possible this year, which is really important to us."
A couple of weeks into the school year, many parents we spoke with are already filled with uncertainty if their child’s classroom will have to quarantine next. For now, many will be waiting to hear the decision the school board makes on the future of masks in schools.
