The Fox C-6 School District will recommend but no longer require masks to be worn inside buildings starting Friday, Oct. 29.
However, anyone riding a district bus must wear a mask, which federal guidelines require.
The district announced the policy change Wednesday evening (Oct. 27), after the Jefferson County Health Department reported the county’s rate of positive COVID-19 tests had fallen to 7.73 percent, which is in the yellow level for that category. Yellow is the second lowest level on the Health Department's four-color COVID-19 warning system.
However, the Health Department said the county is still in the red status on warning system. Red is the highest level on the four-color system and indicates high transmission of the virus in the community.
The main indicator for the color status is the total number of cases per 100,000 people in a seven-day period, but the Health Department said according to CDC guidelines if two categories of data indicate different transmission levels, the higher level is selected as the county’s status.
The number of cases per 100,000 people for Oct. 17 to Oct. 23 was 151.56, which was down from the previous week when there were 182.67 new cases per 100,000 people, the Health Department reported.
The county’s percentage of positive tests for Oct. 17 to Oct. 23 fell for a second straight week and was down from the prior week, when it was at 9.97 percent. For the week of Oct. 10-16, the county was in the orange status for positivity rate. Orange is the second highest level on the warning system.
Kelley Vollmar, director of the Health Department, said the county’s color status is being based on the number of cases, not the percent positivity test rate, because the number of cases category the higher level on the warning system.
According to the Fox district’s COVID mitigation plan, students, staff members, and visitors must wear a mask while inside a Fox C-6 school building if Jefferson County is in the red or orange level of the county’s COVID Color Guidance Indicator.
In his letter announcing the change, Superintendent Paul Fregeau said Fox will continue to follow the modified quarantine guidelines from the Health Department, which allows a student who had close contact with the virus in a school setting to continue to attend classes in person as long as the student wears a mask in school for 14 days after the contact.
According to its website today (Oct. 28), the district currently has 34 students or staff members who have tested positive for the virus, and 69 students or staff members who are quarantined from school because of possible contact with the virus. In addition, 51 students or staff members are following modified-quarantine rules, the district reported.
With the Fox district changing to a mask-optional policy, the Dunklin R-5 School District is now the only county school district requiring masks to be worn in buildings. Dunklin’s policy says students, staff members and visitors are required to wear masks while walking through buildings or if 3 feet of separation is not possible.
Dunklin will remove the mask requirement if the positive rate remains at its current level for 21 consecutive days. So, the earliest the district would adjust its mask policy would be Nov. 12, communications director Matt Lichtenstein said.
Dunklin reported on its website that on Oct. 22 (the most recent data available), the district had three active cases among students and none among staff members. The district also said 13 students were quarantined from school at that time, and no staff members were in quarantine.
The Health Department reported that youth cases fell to 82 between Oct. 17 and Oct. 23, which was the first time youth cases had been in double digits since July 18.
There were 101 youth cases reported between Oct. 10 and Oct. 16 and 150 youth cases reported between Oct. 3 and Oct. 9.
Fox implemented a mask-wearing policy Aug. 17, eight days before the school year started. Board members Carole Yount, Jim Chellew, Krystal Hargis, Michelle Chamberlain and Vicki Hanson voted to require masks, and April Moeckel voted against the mask-wearing policy. Board president Judy Smith was not at the meeting.
The board adjusted the district’s quarantine rules to adopt the modified-quarantine model Sept. 21. Board members voted unanimously to make the change.
State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman filed a lawsuit Oct. 20 contesting Fox’s COVID mitigation plan on behalf of district residents Shannon Otto of Arnold and Michael Gross of Imperial.
They are seeking a permanent injunction against the enforcement and implementation of quarantine and mask policies without the board approving them by following state law and the Missouri Constitution.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs believe the school district has not followed the requirement of 67.265.1(2) RSMo, which makes boards vote to approve any health orders every 21 days if there is not an emergency order in place.
“Without a valid order in place, Defendant has illegally implemented quarantine policies with embedded masking conditions and encouraged and supported enforcement of those orders by the school district and its administrators and medical personnel,” according to the lawsuit.
District officials have said the Fox Board of Education has been following a different clause in that law, voting on policies and plans in a 30-day window.
Coleman also has filed a lawsuit against the Health Department on behalf of two county residents regarding COVID-mitigation policies at the Fox and Grandview R-2 school districts. The Grandview district has had a mask-optional policy sent the start of the school year, but, like other districts in the county, follows quarantine policies recommended by the Health Department.
