Columbia Board of Education extends CPS’ COVID-19 plan
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
UPDATE: 8:15 p.m.: The Columbia Board of Education voted to extend the district's COVID-19 plan at its meeting Monday night.
Several parents spoke against the mask requirement, saying they have adversely affected their children. Meanwhile, several high school students spoke in support of continuing to require masks.
ORIGINAL: The Columbia Board of Education is hosting a meeting tonight at 6:30 and on the agenda is the current mask mandate at CPS schools.
The board voted to keep the current COVID-19 plan in place Oct. 11 with plans to revisit the policy at the next meeting. The plan requires students to wear masks while on buses and indoors at schools. Also, current grades including K-5 will continue having stable groups and assigned seating in classrooms and the lunchroom.
Columbia Public Schools 7-day COVID-19 case rate is decreasing.
According to the latest numbers, last week there was a total of 128 students quarantined or isolated due to COVID-19. The number of positive cases among students is 22 with 106 in quarantine due to possible exposure.
Breaking the numbers down K-12.
There are a total of 83 elementary students out of class. 13 of those are positive cases and 70 students who are in quarantine.
In middle schools, there are a total of eight positive cases and 21 students quarantined.
For high school students there is one positive case and another 15 students who are in quarantine.
Five of those positive cases are within CPS staff. Currently the district is reporting four of it's staff members in quarantine.
Since June of 2020 there have been a total of 1,294 positive cases of COVID-19 reported within students at CPS schools.
The school board will be considering a resolution to extend their current plan and that the district will be offering optional COVID vaccine clinics beginning later this month. The district says they are hopeful the expansion of the vaccine may allow the removal of the current indoor mask requirement.
