Royal Valley board updates masking criteria

A masking criteria was adopted during the Royal Valley Board of Education meeting on Monday evening, which will be used to determine when a mask mandate would be reinstated in district school buildings.

Also during the meeting, the board decided - on a split vote - not to fill the open position on the school board at this time.

Masks were no longer required but “strongly recommended” in the district starting last Monday, Oct. 4, which is when the district began implementing its “Test To Stay And Learn” program.

Now, students who are determined to be a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case can continue to attend school in person as long as they test negative with an antigen test before school each day of their quarantine period, it was reported.

The antigen tests are being administered through the district at the district office storage building in Mayetta as part of a grant.

Superintendent Aaric Davis presented a masking criteria policy to the board during the meeting that is based on the number of current students and staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are in quarantine due to being in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case.

The formula for the criteria is the number of students and staff members in isolation and quarantine in each individual school building divided by the total number of students and staff in the building to determine a percentage.

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