R-I to mandate staff wear masks

The Poplar Bluff R-I school board supported the idea of increasing regulations for staff in a six-to-one vote after 13 bus drivers needed to quarantined for COVID-19 exposure.

Dr. Scott Dill, superintendent, requested board support Thursday night to require PPE for staff and restrict capacity in common areas, such as teacher lounges, in an effort to decrease potential spread.

Dill said while he has the authority to put these in place without board approval, he wanted to ask for board support for them.

As of Tuesday, the district has 247 people in quarantine, including 12 active cases, according to numbers on its website.

During discussion at the board meeting, administration said, its 15 active cases and closer to 300 in quarantine.

Under this mandate, staff will be required to wear a mask while within six feet of another person. 

Teachers can take it off while teaching in front of a class because there is enough distance, but will be required to put it back on when going around the classroom to help students.

The district will be able to provide masks or face shields for those who do not already have one.

Dill said about 50% of staff have been wearing masks already, especially after incidents this week.

Prior to the beginning of the year, Health and Drug-Free Coordinator Sheryl Talkington discussed with all staff about what wearing a mask would mean when it comes to contact tracing.

A staff member, who is not wearing a mask, if named in contact tracing, needs to wait for 74 hours before taking a test, but if it comes back negative, they can return to school as long as they wear a mask for the rest of those 14 days, under an essential worker exception.

Dill said they’re not required to get a test, but would need to be out for 14 days if they don’t before they’re allowed to come back.

If a staff member is wearing a mask and would otherwise be named in contact tracing, they are allowed to remain at school.

“I’m asking for this not because of any politics, not because it’s been proven one way or the other, but because I know for a fact that if they’re wearing this stuff (PPE), they don’t get sent home in a contact trace,” Dill said. “That’s what it comes down to. I need to keep the doors open, and I can’t do it without folks here to teach.”

Dill said they could have avoided the situation with the bus drivers this week with masks and additional distance.

This wasn’t the first instance for staff or students, which could have been avoided, he continued.

Board members discussed the topic for almost an hour, bringing up concerns about not wanting to require them, enforcement and specifics on the policy.

“I don’t want to force somebody to do something that’s not required from our local health department because I am not a health professional,” board member Roger Hanner said. “If you have 50% of your teachers wearing a mask, does the other 50% care or not care about the COVID or contact tracing or any of this scenario?”

Dill said in a survey he put out, parents felt more strongly about wanting staff to wear a mask than the teachers did. The teachers, he said, mostly were good with recommended, but not required, which is where the district has been.

“Everything else was fairly well split, leaning toward ‘please don’t ask us to do this,’” Dill said. “That survey was two weeks ago. Our world has changed quite a bit in the last two weeks.”

Hanner asked why the staff won’t automatically wear it, knowing the situation at hand.

Dill mostly attributed that to politics.

Patty Robinson, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said for her, the mask is uncomfortable.

Misty Dobson, attendance officer, expressed a similar reason.

Both said they’d wear it if the district required.

“I think people are just looking for some guidance,” Robinson said.

Krystal Dover, MNEA representative, said she had several members wanting a mask mandate before classes started.

She surveyed members and found about half could care less one way or the other, one-quarter was all for mandatory masks for everybody, and the rest said they would be wearing it anyway.

Jenifer Richardson, Oak Grove Elementary principal, said the staff at her school mostly have been wearing masks because they understand the situation, and they want to be there for the students.

“It’s a circle of trust,” she said. “I trust them that they’re going to have it on when they’re supposed to, and if we mandate it, I trust that they’re going to do it.”

At the end of the day, Richardson and Dobson said, the staff is there for the students to make sure they’re fed, learning and happy.

Hanner ultimately voted in favor of the policy after listening to the administration talk about it. Board member Tim Gaebler was the only no vote.

Multiple board members discussed enforcement.

Dill said at this point, it’s an honor system, and if somebody isn’t, then it will come up in contact tracing.

He has discussed with legal counsel some options, such as sending them home until they wear a mask, but that “compounds the problem” of staffing.

“They could potentially use their personal days up and be paying the district for the privilege of being here,” Dill said. “It could turn into an ugly situation pretty quick.