PB R-I COVID issues decrease

Kindergarten teacher Kellen Deffendall helps Richie Coffer with his backpack and school supplies on the first day of school Monday.

DAR/Paul Davis

Two weeks after the Poplar Bluff R-I school district implemented a personal protective equipment requirement for grades four and up, the number of people out for COVID-related issues is decreasing.

When the school board approved the mandate at the end of October, just under 10% of the district’s population was out either after testing positive or because of potential exposure.

Now, that is down to less than 5%, according to school officials. This is also the first time since school started that the high school is reporting zero confirmed positives, according to information on the district’s website. The junior high is now the campus with the most positives at 19 cases.

Dr. Scott Dill, superintendent, said there has been some push back over the policy, but overall it’s been well received.

“For the most part, it’s been pretty good. Now we have a few people who have elected to take a political stance on it. And that’s fine,” he said. “This is not a political issue for the district. This is an issue of keeping school open.

“So we have individuals who utilize PPE or we tell them to go home until they do so. Then of course, you have kids on a daily basis that they take their face covering off 30 times a day, 31 times a day. That can be exhausting for everyone involved.”

Under a policy from the Butler County Health Department, which the school district adopted, they do not name those who wear a mask in contact tracing if it needs to occur.

This is similar to the recommendation Gov. Mike Parson gave out Thursday morning, which does not require quarantine if both the infected person and the person with potential exposure are wearing a mask.

Parson reiterated Thursday he opposes a statewide mask requirement.

But he said state officials believe the guidance change “will lead to more schools encouraging proper mask usage, helping to further protect students and educators from the spread of the virus.”

Anybody who tests positive still needs to quarantine.

Under the health department’s recommendation, students at R-I with potential exposure, but were not wearing their mask, can receive a COVID-19 test four days after exposure.

If it comes back negative, they’re allowed to return to school as long as they wear a mask for the remainder of their 14 days original quarantine.

The school district implemented this policy prior to requiring PPE for students fourth grade and up. Masks are also required for all faculty and staff when they’re unable to social distance.

Dill said he’s seen some families move to the virtual school the district offers because of this policy, but he’s also seen some, who were using it, want to come back into the traditional classroom.

That transition is easier at the lower levels, he said, but at high school where credits matter, it’s hard.

“It’s very difficult for students to transition right now,” he said. “We have some families, I think, maybe at semester will be choosing one way or another. But we don’t want to do anything that’s going to inhibit the student’s ability to earn credits per semester.”

While not wearing a mask isn’t a disciplinary issue, he said, they could for insubordination or disruptive behavior. However, there hasn’t been a major issue that needed to come to his desk in relation to wearing PPE.