Please sign this petition to support a safe return for all students and staff of Transylvania County Schools (TCS).

We petition an emergency meeting of the TCS Board of Education so that members can hear from the public and allow them to go on record with their stance concerning the need for COVID-19 safety protocols, including:

1. Reinstatement of mask mandates in Transylvania County Schools in the wake of a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations locally and nationally, as well as existing and anticipated shortages of medical services and testing supplies.  
2.  Address plans to adopt and adapt to the December 2021 revisions to NCDHHS StrongSchools NC Public Health Toolkit requiring teachers and staff who are unvaccinated, or do not disclose vaccine status, to participate in weekly screening/testing programs.
3.  Address plans to adopt and adapt to the December 2021 revisions to NCDHHS StrongSchools NC Public Health Toolkit requiring unvaccinated staff/students who were exposed or test-positive to wear a face covering for an additional five days upon return to school as outlined as mandatory in the Toolkit. 

The following new information highlights the need for TCS to take all precautions to protect students and community:

• According to TPH data, the weekly average positive case rate for November (while school mask mandate was in place) was 28 cases per week; the weekly average positive case rate for December  (while optional mask policy was in place) was 107 cases per week - an increase of almost 400%.
• Since December 4, 2020, statewide positive cases have dramatically increased from 3,683 cases per day to 10,276 cases per day according to the NCDHHS COVID dashboard.
• Since December 4, NC statewide hospitalizations have steadily increased from 1,264 hospitalizations to 3,008 hospitalizations as of January 3 according to the NCDHHS COVID dashboard, North Carolina’s hospitals systems are already at or reaching patient capacity - as an example Duke University’s statewide hospitals are at 77% patient capacity and ICU facility has no available beds as of January 4. 
• On September 20, 2021 at time stamp1:27:39 in the board meeting video, Chairperson Tawny McCoy stated, “I do have to say that when you look at the protocols, because of the quarantining that’s required, it is making a different on the children that can be in the classroom and I know we don’t want to go back to not having children in the classroom and that’s what’s important to me.” What has changed? Cases and quarantines for students and staff are higher now than they were at that time and students are losing more in-person learning as a result.

Masks are the solution for maximizing in-person learning; the case data specific to our school system shows masks keep students healthier in school. Students need a safe environment and consistent messaging from qualified healthcare providers, school systems and the community to foster stability and security. Students and school staff need to be empowered to keep themselves and their classrooms and offices safe and healthy. TCS Board of Education should defer to Transylvania Public Health, NCDHHS and CDC public health recommendations in order to provide a safe environment. Please convene an emergency meeting to immediately consider a reinstatement of the mask mandate and additional StrongSchools Toolkit protocol.