New Hanover County School Board votes to shift district to masks optional

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The New Hanover County School Board voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to shift the district to masks optional.

Masks will still be required in Head Start classrooms and on the bus, but they will be optional everywhere else effective Friday, February 18.

The special virtual meeting called to address the mask mandate, specifically, was publicly announced Monday.

While the issue was not on the agenda for the board’s regular meeting Tuesday night, protesters still showed up in force.

School board meeting attendees are required to wear a mask. Once the group got inside the building at Tuesday night’s meeting, they removed their masks, and a few became vocal with board members.

Brunswick, Bladen and Pender county schools are mask optional. Columbus County Schools moves to mask optional February 28.

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