Bonneville District 93 to require masks beginning Monday

BONNEVILLE COUNTY — Bonneville Joint School District 93 will require masks for all students and employees beginning Monday.

Superintendent Scott Woolstenhulme announced Thursday that a high number of COVID-19 cases has moved the district into the high-risk red phase and that masks need to be worn when physical distancing cannot be maintained.

“We had hoped we would be able to start the school year without these measures in place,” Woolstenhulme said in a YouTube video. “We had hoped that we would be able to keep our schools open safely without a mask mandate, but over the past month, we have seen that has not been the case with the new variants in our communities.”

Woolstenhulme noted that several employees have been hospitalized and students and other workers have missed school due to COVID-19. He said staffing is nearly in “crisis mode” for substitute teachers, kitchen workers and custodians.

“Our biggest concern is if we don’t do all we can to stop and slow the spread the COVID in our schools, we won’t be able to keep our schools open,” he said. “We ask for your patience and support as we work through this phase. We need to do everything we can to keep the schools open for our students.”

Although some eastern Idaho schools have implemented mask mandates, District 93 becomes the first district to require masks this school year.

Watch Woolstenhulme’s entire message in the video player above.