While information about the coronavirus is changing almost daily, school districts are required to submit a health and safety plan for the upcoming school year to the state by July 30.

South Butler County School District had a special meeting Tuesday, where the school board voted 7-1 to approve its health and safety plan.

Superintendent David Foley said the district may need to update the plan as the summer break comes to an end, and information about the coronavirus progresses.

“Our goal is to keep the schools open,” Foley said. “We will be back here next Wednesday for our work session meeting, and I don't know if there will be additional guidance.”

The sole “no” vote on the plan came from Rebecca Boyd, who said the school district should require masks to protect children younger than 12 who are still ineligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

“If I was a parent, I would move heaven and Earth to keep my child safe,” Boyd said. “Anything short of mandated masks and physical distancing would put my child at risk, and that risk would be unacceptable to me.”

The district will not require masks to be worn within its facilities. However, students will need to follow a federal requirement and wear masks while riding the school buses, which are considered public transportation. The district will also enforce three feet of social distancing between students wherever possible.

Additionally, the school district will quarantine sick students when a parent cannot produce a vaccination card for them.

During the meeting, Foley showed the board the results of a parent survey that received 808 responses. Approximately 95% of parents were comfortable with several of the updated policies proposed by South Butler.

Foley said feedback from parents is integral to the school district's focus on local planning.

“I'm pleased parents took the time to respond to the survey,” he said.

Foley also said the development of coronavirus information has been impacting the district throughout the past year-and-a-half. The changes from the end of last school year to the beginning of the next one are based on state recommendations, as well as community communications.

“We were all wearing masks at the end of school,” Foley said. “We're trying to make local decisions based on state recommendations.”