Imagine you get out of your car, you’re heading to class but forget your mask, what will you do? Masks are easy to forget, especially when you know teachers will have some supplied for you. But if you forget a mask everyday repeatedly, it can add up. 

“It can range from five to 12 in mostly first period,” drama teacher Sharon Wezelman said. Some students might be running late and forget to grab one. Some students’ masks may break. Others hate the wet feeling of them after sweating and request a new one. 

“I would say that we probably go through one box a day, and the boxes have 50 masks,” librarian Lisa Gore said. The library is one of the main places students rely on for masks. 

“On average it’s about 350 masks a day,” Principal Richard Nash said. 

Masks have allowed students to get back to in-person learning and schools to stay open, but where does the funding for them come from? 

There is not an unlimited amount of funding and masks for students. “The Federal Government in the beginning of this pandemic afforded all states the funding to meet these needs,” Nash said. 

Now, Nash is concerned about how much the initial funding is going to continue to pay for masks. “My hope is that as Titans we recognize wastefulness,” Nash said. 

It is unknown how many boxes have been supplied to the district. According to “prnewswire”, the cost of one mask is around 58 cents.  

What kind of masks are better to use? Is one better than the other?

“There are pros and cons to wearing both reusable and disposable masks,” sophomore Julianna Jaris said.

Pros for reusable are they are environmentally friendly and last longer, cons are users must wash them frequently, and they are harder to replace. 

Although easier to buy in bulk, disposable are hard on the environment and are expensive to use over time.