Wilson County Extends Mask Mandate Until November
Photo Credit: Wilson County Schools
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
At Monday’s board meeting, Wilson County Schools decided to extend their mask mandate until November. It will be revisited again at the beginning of next month.
The mandate initially went into effect in September, allowing an opt-out option for parents to take advantage of.
According to the school district, they had a slightly higher number of cases and “close calls” last week compared to the weeks before. The extension will continue to be in compliance with Governor Bill Lee’s opt-out order.
Wilson County Director of Schools Jeff Luttrell said, “My goal is to stay in school.”
According to the Tennessean, Wilson County Schools were closed from August 30 to Labor Day due to Covid.
The district’s Public Information Officer Bart Barker said, “While we don’t look at this as a huge setback compared to last week, it does reaffirm that we all need to keep doing what we can to hopefully further decrease the spread.”
Barker told the Tennessean that over five thousand students have already opted out of the mask mandate. Lee’s executive order was extended until November 5, allowing families to still opt out.
On September 14, Wilson County reported that 25% of students had opted out of wearing masks.
Barker has asked students and families to “continue to utilize safe health practices as we continue to navigate through this fall semester.”
According to reports, there were 104 positive cases and 647 close contacts among students during the week of September 25 to October 1. Among staff members, there were 7 cases and 6 close contacts during the same week. The week of August 21-27 saw 37 positive cases in staff members and 16 close contacts. In the same week, there were 369 cases in students, with over 2,200 close calls.
During Monday’s board meeting, they also spoke about the Rutland Elementary School Resource Officer Teresa Fuller who died last week.
In order to show their respect, students and staff put hundreds of letters and roses on Fuller’s patrol car that had been left at the school.
Rutland Elementary School Principal Shaunna Davis told News 4 Nashville, “Teresa loved this school fiercely. I would say she was the heart of Rutland.”
Davis said she was the only officer serving in building B. She began working for the Wilson County Sheriff’s office in 2007.
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Captain Scott Moore said, “I know she is in a safe place. She is no longer hurting. She would want us to move forward.”
Fuller also wrote a grant for Rutland’s Buddy Bench and spent time during the pandemic visiting nursing homes.
“If we needed a little extra discipline, she would come in there and put her officer Teresa face on, and they would straighten up,” Gina Bilbrey, the school’s P.E. teacher said. “So, she was the best of both worlds.”
Davis said, “There will be no replacement for Teresa, but we know that her legacy will live on here, and we will make sure that happens.”
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
