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Lake City Students Shed Masks Friday; Will Wear Them Again On Tuesday

Courtesy of Coeur d'Alene School District

Students at Coeur d’Alene’s Lake City High School got a one-day reprieve from wearing masks Friday. But they’ll have to put them back on when they return Tuesday.Governor Brad Little on Friday issued an executive order that nullified an executive order issued issued on Thursday by Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin. Her order banned school districts from requiring students and staff to wear masks.

“It was a surprise and put us in a difficult position to be able to respond quickly, so we did not change anything with our practice with masks yesterday at Lake City High School, but we did reach out to the governor’s office and to the district’s legal counsel for some guidance on how to respond," said Coeur d'Alene School District spokesman Scott Maben.

Lake City has had about two dozen students and at least two staff members test positive for Covid in the last month. District officials imposed a mask requirement on May 21 after it was determined that a mask recommendation and the honor system wasn't working.

With Governor Little’s order taking precedence, Maben says Lake City students will go back to wearing masks after the Memorial Day holiday. He says that mandate will continue through the end of the school year on June 11.

Lake City is the only Coeur d’Alene district school currently with a mask requirement. Mandates at Woodland and Canfield Middle Schools have expired within the last week.