With the recent decision by the Indianola School Board to require masks for all students and staff for grades k-12, the recommendations provided by the administration included data from how other neighboring school districts were handling their policies. Superintendent Art Sathoff tells KNIA News Indianola schools were unique in a sense that most schools didn’t have a policy for just grades 6-12, with most larger schools requiring masks for everyone. Sathoff also said the policy change wasn’t made because of a lack of success with the current policy, but to help as many students as possible stay in school if an outbreak occurs.

“We didn’t make the change on the basis of having large outbreaks, we really are getting along pretty well, and that’s one of the things that made it difficult to change. But I think we are trying to take full advantage of the guidance and rules as they exist, and the guidance on that changes sometimes. The goal is still having as many students in school as possible, that is also why we had students come back to in-person school five days a week when most districts were doing a 2-3 days a week hybrid model.”

The masks will be required in all schools starting on November 2nd.