York County News

Senators Mike Regan, Kristin Phillips-Hill, Chris Gebhard, Doug Mastriano, and Representatives Torren Ecker, Keith Gillespie, Seth Grove, Mike Jones, Dawn Keefer, Kate Klunk, Dan Moul, and Stan Saylor have expressed their concerns regarding Governor Wolf's recent decision to impose a statewide mask mandate in schools and childcare facilities.

The legislators criticized the governor for reversing his previous stance against such mandates. They stated: “Governor Wolf, once again, reversed course from his repeated stance over the month of August that there would be no mask mandate. Furthermore, in a letter to legislative leaders just last week, he asked for legislation to implement a universal masking policy in school districts and childcare facilities."

They emphasized that local school directors had already made decisions after consulting with various stakeholders including students and health experts. "In fact," they noted, "our locally elected school directors have weighed all of the options...to make these difficult decisions in the best interest of their community when creating School Health and Safety plans."

The statement highlighted that these locally created plans remain valid as Secretary of Education Noe Ortega previously assured there would be no funding cuts based on local decisions. The legislators urged school directors to adhere to their original plans despite what they termed as "empty words from a lame duck governor" and mandates from an "unelected" official.

Bruce McLanahan can be contacted at 717-787-8524 for further information.