City Council approves Columbia mayor’s mask order for schools. What to know
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Columbia’s COVID-19 Emergency Order
Mayor Steve Benjamin declared a state of emergency for Columbia that includes mask requirements for schools within the city limits. What will that mean for your child this year? Here’s the latest.
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Students in most Columbia schools will be required to wear masks when the school year starts in two weeks, by order of the city council.
Columbia City Council on Thursday approved Mayor Steve Benjamin’s emergency order requiring masks in most Columbia schools.
The city council met in an emergency session Thursday morning and voted 5-1 to approve the mayor’s emergency declaration issued on Wednesday, requiring students and faculty to wear masks at 43 elementary and middle schools and day cares in the city limits. Violators face a potential $100 city fine.
Councilman Daniel Rickenmann, a candidate to succeed Benjamin in November’s election, was the lone vote against the measure. He said the city should do everything it can to encourage people to wear masks, get vaccinated and take other precautions against the spread of COVID-19, but he believes a mandate will violate state law.
Benjamin pushed back against that assertion, reading a state budget proviso for this school year that prohibits public school districts from spending state funds on mask mandates. He noted the law doesn’t limit the city’s actions, and argued the state constitution empowers cities to take emergency measures such as the mask ordinance.
Nevertheless, Benjamin said he expects the city will be sued over the order.
“This is a thoughtful action that ought not be political,” said Benjamin, who is not seeking reelection in November. “We should not care what any politicians think, we should be focused on good public health.”
The fines will be handed out to school administrators by city fire marshals, who will enforce the mask mandate similarly to how a citywide mask mandate was enforced from last summer until May, when Gov. Henry McMaster issuing an executive order quashing all local mask rules.
The governor’s office pushed back against the mandate Wednesday, arguing that state law prohibits state funding from being used to enforce masks in public schools.
“State law prohibits mask mandates in public schools, and the city’s ordinance would require teachers and administrators to violate state law,” McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes said.
The state attorney general’s office said it would review the city ordinance and then issue a response as soon as next week. Attorney General Alan Wilson previously told the University of South Carolina it could be prohibited from requiring masks on its Columbia campus.
Richland 1 school Superintendent Craig Witherspoon, who oversees most of the schools that will be affected by the order, responded to the mayor’s declaration Wednesday by saying the school district will prioritize the health and safety of those walking their halls.
“We will encourage our students and staff to wear masks, which public health officials advise to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Witherspoon said. “We also urge everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated to get vaccinated.”
Some Richland 1 officials are willing to go further. Cheryl Harris, the vice chair of the district school board, said she would ask her school board colleagues to extend the city’s mask policy to all Richland 1 elementary and middle schools, including those outside Columbia’s city limits. Harris said private funding would provide masks for students, thus getting around the state budget restriction.
Columbia’s emergency ordinance is focused on elementary and middle schools, or any facility that serves children between the ages of 2 and 14. Benjamin said the main focus of the action is to protect those children too young to get a COVID-19 vaccine, citing the rise in COVID-related respiratory illnesses that have maxed out capacity at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in Columbia.
Many city council members on Thursday shared personal concerns about family members’ health and their own actions taken to avoid catching or spreading the virus.
“I have a 4-year-old who will be staring elementary school,” said Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, who also is campaigning to succeed Benjamin. “He’s worn a mask in day care, and they have not had any outbreaks... I have two children who are not eligible for the vaccine, but the state says I have to send them to school. Now they want to tell teachers that if they try to protect the children we put in their care, they will be penalized. That’s not the message we should be sending.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 10:55 AM.
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