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“We’re not recommending any changes to the plan at this time,� Dahman said at a meeting of the Milton School Board. “Our multiple layers of protection seem to be working very well.�

Before Dahman spoke, several parents raised concerns over the Milton Forward plan and itÃÛèÖÊÓƵ current COVID-19 protocols.

Gina Doomer, a parent of five children in the school district, had several questions.

“What made the district decide on what layers of mitigation to use? Why can’t we go back to 6 feet in the classroom and wash surfaces? Why don’t we add those two levels of mitigation (and make) the mask optional?� Doomer asked.

Anthony Falso, a parent of two who moved to the area recently, noted inconsistencies in the school boardÃÛèÖÊÓƵ approach to implementing safety measures to limit the spread of the virus.

He said he was “shocked at how it seemed that some members of the board completely disregarded all of the major data from the medical field. During the meeting, one of the board members said they had searched and could not find a peer-reviewed study that showed that masks work. When there are literally scores and scores and scores of these peer-reviewed studies available.�

Dahman said that as of Monday, Sept. 27, there were seven positive COVID-19 cases among Milton students and one positive among staff. Eleven students are currently quarantined due to in-school exposures and 15 students are quarantined because of exposure off campus.

School board member Leslie Hubert asked Dahman when it would be safe to switch to a mask-optional policy.

“I think thereÃÛèÖÊÓƵ a lot of moving parts to that decision of whether we should loosen our protocol or tighten our protocol,â€� Dahman replied. “We need to make sure that we have a system in place that maintains that level of safety for our students, staff and community. It isn’t as simple as looking at the number of transmissions or the number of people vaccinated.â€�

No vote was taken, leaving the universal masking policy in place.