Three Local School Boards Vote to Require Masks

All three local school boards meeting in special session Monday night voted to require masks in their schools.

The school boards at Altamont, St. Elmo and North Clay all voted in favor of masking.

The vote at Altamont was 7-0. A full copy of the most up-to-date in-person learning plan for the District can be found on the District website.

The vote at St. Elmo was four Yes, two No, and one Yes "under protest". The motion was to "approve the Revised Tentative Back-to-School Plan following CDC, IDPH, and ISBE guidelines, requiring universal masking indoors for all students, staff, and visitors and providing an opporunity to test-to-return as outlined in guidance". The vote at St. Elmo followed a more than two-hour closed session.

The motion "under protest" at North Clay was five Yes and two No to add masking for students and staff to follow the mask mandate to the Return-to-School Plan. The motion is effective Wednesday.

The North Clay board also voted 7-0 to approve a motion to authorize Superintendent Travis Wyatt to "explore the option to pursue legal action against the State of Illinois and any other entities imposing sanctions against North Clay Community Unit School District #25". 

The Teutopolis, Brownstown, Dieterich and South Central school boards all have special meetings scheduled tonight to consider changes to their Back-to-School plans, and the Beecher City and Cowden-Herrick boards are to meet on Wednesday night.