SAN ANTONIO — Students and staff across San Antonio Independent School District are about to get another layer of protection. According to a local teachers' union, the district has bought a huge order of high-quality face masks as the pandemic continues.
"SAISD has purchased 250,000 high-quality KN95 masks for school workers and students. Our union has pushed for this for months, and we celebrate district leadership’s decision to add another layer to the protections in place in our schools. Very few districts across the country have provided this level of PPE for school workers and students," San Antonio Alliance said in a post on Facebook. "We’re fighting to ensure that SAISD is the safest school district in the state. While you wait for upgraded PPE, we encourage everyone to upgrade their own masks, using surgical, N95 or KN95 masks rather than cloth masks, and encouraging students to do the same."
SAISD serves about 47,000 students across more than 90 schools.
Last month, SAISD re-implemented its face mask mandate after it had decided to temporarily suspend the mask mandate because the district wanted to "fully examine" the December 1, 2021, Stay Order issued by the Fifth Circuit.
SAISD had also said it was experiencing a rise in coronavirus cases in explaining its decision.
"To continue our commitment to the safety and well-being of all of our SAISD family members, and in order to ensure maximum protection for our students and staff, we have reinstituted our district’s mask mandate, effective Wednesday, December 8," a letter to SAISD families said.