JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — Students and staff within the Fox C-6 School District will soon go back to wearing masks in schools.
In a letter to families Thursday, Fox C-6 superintendent Paul Fregeau announced the district would reinstate its mask mandate, just one week after it was lifted.
Last week, Fregeau said the district made the decision to lift the mask mandate due to updated COVID-19 numbers across Jefferson County.
As per the approved board plan, masks are only required in schools when the county is in the red or orange level. The Jefferson County Health Department had announced the COVID-19 positivity rate dropped into the yellow level of the county’s COVID Color Guidance Indicator, but said the district was still overall in the "red."
Jefferson County Health Department Spokesperson Brianne Zwiener said when it comes to new cases per 100,000 people, Jefferson County was still considered "high." She clarified that the number that slipped to the “yellow zone” was positivity rates, and analysts believe the decrease could be due to an increase in at-home COVID-19 testing.
“We're still seeing that red level of transmission, as far as our cases within the county so Jefferson County is still in red status,” she said.
This week, the health department released updated COVID-19 data that showed the positivity rate back at the orange level. And although the positivity rate is in the orange, the county's transmission level remains in the red status.
Based on that data, the Fox C-6 School District will require masks be worn by students, staff and visitors inside school buildings beginning Monday, Nov. 8.
However, even some parents who are advocating for masking to continue in schools until vaccines are widely available for the youngest students say they're frustrated with the back-and-forth.
"It seemed like we went from having a clear plan with clear protocol in place to we're making it up as we go," said Amanda Meeks, a mother of three Fox students under the age of 10. "Going based off of one indicator dropping down while others are still high was not the correct way of using the data that they put out."
A district spokesperson said in an email that they believe leadership was acting in accordance with board policy when the change was announced last week. We sought clarification on whether the district will look at the county's overall status or individual indicators moving forward; that spokesperson sent 5 On Your Side the following statement:
"Based on how the District’s COVID Mitigation Plan is currently written, Fox C-6 will continue to consider the mask requirement as we have the past two weeks. However, the COVID Mitigation Plan is required to be re-approved by the Board of Education every 30 days, with the next approval coming at the November 16, 2021 meeting. At that time, the Board will decide whether to revise the plan, including the current parameters for the masking requirement or to re-approve the plan as it is currently written. Fox C-6 will continue to monitor data in Jefferson County, as well as the District’s internal COVID data prior to and after the Board’s next approval of the COVID Mitigation Plan."
Face coverings are also required when riding school buses, per federal guidelines.
Last month, the Fort Zumwalt School District voted to lift its mask mandate. The City of St. Charles School District made masks optional for high school students, while younger students are still required to wear them.
Also last month, the Francis Howell School District voted to extend its mask mandate for students pre-K through sixth grade. Wearing a mask is optional from seventh through 12th grades.