The Columbia School Board will vote Monday on whether to extend its COVID-19 plan for another month as it faces a state order to remove its mask mandate and other mitigative strategies.
This school year, public officials and parents have attended board meetings to voice strong opposition or support for the plan, which gives the district superintendent the authority to direct a mask mandate.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent a letter to the district Wednesday that demanded it stop enforcing its mask requirement. This was the second letter the district received from the attorney general in the past week. On Tuesday, Schmitt sent separate letters to school districts and public health agencies statewide, ordering them to end mask mandates, quarantine procedures and other health regulations.
The district’s mask mandate, which applies to students, employees and visitors in district buildings and on school buses, has been in place since mid-August. The board has voted to extend the plan at each of its meetings this school year.
At the Nov. 8 meeting, some parents insulted and cursed at the board when it last extended the plan.
