The crowd was standing room only as parents gathered to hear exactly what the plan would be at Perry County School District #32 for the upcoming school year as it pertained to masks when they attended the school board meeting on Aug. 11.
Not much was changed, as the district will continue the protocols they implemented during the summer school session in what the board deemed the “Stay the Course” plan.
This means there will be no mask mandate for students or staff at school and are optional for both students and staff inside district facilities including classrooms, cafeterias, and gymnasiums.
“The goal is to keep the kids in the classroom all five days during the week,” school board president Jamie Robinson said. “We want to be able to limit the amount of time the kids have to wear the masks to as little as possible.”
Despite no mask mandate, staff will continue to disinfect on a regular basis and the students and staff will maintain six feet of physical distancing when possible. The district will also follow the Department of Health and Senior Services requirements for contact tracing, isolation and quarantine.
The district will also comply with the Perry County Health Department direction when it comes to quarantines.
One point of contention during the meetings over the summer was how the staff would handle each student’s vaccination status. That was answered rather quickly.
District staff will not ask about an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status, however the health department will do so when conducting their contact tracing investigations.
The district employees are considered essential workers and as such if they are deemed a close contact they can continue to work as long as they show no symptoms. They will be required to wear a mask during the quarantine time set by the Perry County Health Department.
While not in the classroom, federal law says masks are required on public transportation including school buses. All drivers and riders must be masked at all times when on district school buses.
The district has put a large emphasis on collecting data this academic year especially when it comes to the triggers it will take to implement a masks in the classroom should they be needed. Local students are implementing strategies to put on masks once attendance reaches below a certain percentage.
“I can’t give you a number yet,” Perry County Superintendent Andy Comstock said. “Partly because I believe we need to see what the data says before we do that. Are the kids showing symptoms when they are at home? Until I see that I don’t want to put a number out there because I don’t what a good number is yet?”
The district is in the process of hiring a data specialist to tack the COVID-19 numbers and the board will hear an update at the September meeting about the impact of COVID-19 on attendance and staffing.
The meeting started out with the recognition of Leah Buerck. The former Perryville soccer player was honored for her tremendous career, which spanned three seasons. Buerck ended her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 102 goals (45 in 2021), 53 assists and 257 points. She earned numerous awards including first team All-State and Class 2 Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Buerck earned a scholarship to play soccer at Mineral Area College this fall.
“I don’t know if there has ever been a person who I have been up here with more than Leah Buerck,” Assistant Superintendent Jeanie White said. “I always enjoy this part of the job.”
The meeting continued with the patron comments, which included Mina Hoehn, who spoke on concerns with bus drivers. She discussed pay scales for drivers and also the need for drivers.
Comstock spoke about the elementary construction project, which has been completed and the different dates for school orientations were announced along with the first day of school, which is planned for Aug. 23.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 8.
