Clay County Health Postpones Vote for School Guidelines

Nearly 200 people gathered at the Clay County Public Health Center for public comment on the Health Board’s vote whether to require masks in schools. The majority of people who attended the meeting were parents opposed to any mandates citing mental hardships for their kids and freedom of choice.

The public comment section of the meeting lasted three hours, and the majority of the people who attended the meeting were against any masking requirements. “Take off the masks. Are you following science or is this political theater?” said one of the more passionate speakers.

A small percentage of the crowd was for masks to be worn in schools. “While everyone is entitled to their opinion, it does not mean that we and you need to heed them when they seek to create a health liability for members of our community,” said a mask advocate.

After public comments were finished, the Health Board had a discussion among themselves. It was widely speculated that the board would vote at the meeting on whether or not to require face coverings in schools, but they decided to table the vote for a later date.

Just a few weeks ago the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released guidance for schools to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidance calls for school districts to prioritize COVID-19 prevention to keep students learning in-person. DESE points to CDC guidance that suggests how crucial in-person learning is to students.

The guidance does not recommend requiring masks for students, however it leaves masking policies up to the discretion of individual boards of education.

There has been no update from the Kearney School district about updating current policies in response to the new CDC recommendation. KPGZ News will update the story as details develop.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story