Boonville Board of Education set to discuss looser COVID-19 quarantine rules for workers
BOONVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Boonville Board of Education will discuss a resolution that would deem school employees as essential workers when it meets Wednesday.
The district had a similar discussion in October and board members decided to table the conversation. Boonville wanted to wait for more information from the Cooper County Health Department about some of the language regarding mask-wearing in younger students.
At the time of the first discussion on Oct. 14, Boonville Superintendent Dr. Sarah Marriott said that 144 students had been sent home to quarantine.
The district currently has five positive cases, according to an update posted last Wednesday. The district website does not list the number of people in quarantine.
Dr. Marriott said while she can't speak on behalf of the board, she expects the resolution to pass.
The superintendent noted the Cooper County Health Department's approval of the resolution being one of the main reasons she expects it to pass.
Marriott also said that she's confident after seeing other schools implement similar policies.
If the resolution is to pass and cases continue to rise, Dr. Marriott said that the district is ready to quickly increase restrictions.
"we certainly don't want to put people in an increased susceptibility for developing COVID-19," The superintendent said. She added that the district is trying to balance that, with keeping as many people in the building.
The Jefferson City School District considered a similar measure in October but decided against adopting it.
JC Schools Superintendent Larry Linthacum said at the time that the change could have helped with the staffing issues the district was facing but feedback from parents and staff lead them to stay with the 14-day quarantine period.
"We still need to consider options to provide substitute teachers as needed and then we'll come back," Linthacum said at the time. "But for right now we will focus on creative ways to try and find subs."
The district has had to close buildings for periods this fall because of the number of staff in quarantine.
The Boonville School District also last month changed student quarantine rules so that some students exposed to coronavirus could return to school while wearing masks. Missouri education officials later adopted similar protocols as a statewide recommendation.
Marriott said that around 100 students have been allowed to remain in school thanks to these quarantine rules. None of which, developed COVID-19.
School board members were not available for comment Wednesday morning.
Check back for more on this developing story or watch ABC 17 News at 6 and 6:30.
