The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board will vote Tuesday on when to let staff and students go without face coverings inside schools for the first time since the pandemic began.
Mecklenburg County Health Director Raynard Washington is expected to speak and field questions before the vote. Board members say they'll be weigh when to make the switch and whether other COVID-19 safety strategies need to be adjusted when masks come off.
“The question is timing,” board member Lenora Shipp said last week. “Is this the time?”
Mecklenburg County's indoor mask mandate ends Saturday, but last week state health officials urged schools to aim for March 7 as the time to switch to mask-optional policies. Board member Jennifer De La Jara said CMS leaders are also waiting for updates to COVID-19 guidelines from the state and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The meeting will start at 6 p.m. with a report and discussion on ways to improve the district's graduation rate. It's open to public attendance, but because it's the second meeting of the month it will not include public comments.
