With a 6-1 vote Monday night, the Cape Girardeau School District board voted to maintain the district's current masking and quarantine procedures.

The decision was met with vocal disagreement from a crowd packed into the district's typically barren board room.

Parents scheduled to speak (and several not) voiced their concerns about the district's current COVID-19 procedures.

One parent, Resa Armstrong, addressed the board saying the district's current quarantine procedures "failed" her son at Central High School. She said he has faced six separate stints of quarantines.

Another parent, Clayton Camp, told the board his son in seventh grade had been quarantined nine of the first 22 days of school.

Superintendent Neil Glass speaks about maintaining the current mask and quarantine procedures for the immediate future during a Cape Girardeau School District board meeting Monday at the district's office in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

"When are we going to start taking into consideration our children's mental and emotional health?" Camp asked the board. Several audience members responded with "amens" and applause.

The district currently follows the guidance of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, according to board president Kyle McDonald, who pointed to a recommendation on the health department's website to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines for vaccinations and masking.

The district could face legal ramifications if it goes against the county health department's recommendations, McDonald said.

"If we go against that, then they (Missouri State High School Activities Association) could pull our credentials and none of our students could participate in any activities outside of school," McDonald said.

Superintendent Neil Glass said district officials expect to receive updated guidance within a week or two from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

"They're looking at relaxing some of the quarantine guidelines, but that comes from the health department, too," Glass said. "We're ready to pivot at a moment's notice, but I need guidance from them to do so."

McDonald said the district's procedures may soon change pending conversations with the county's health department.

The Cape Girardeau School District began the current school year without a mask mandate. The board instated one Aug. 31 after attendance dipped at several of its schools.

McDonald said the board voted for the mask mandate to keep quarantines down. In the first few days of school, more than 100 students were sent home to quarantine each day.

Currently, McDonald said the district's quarantine count is approximately 10% of what it was at the beginning of the school year, with fewer than 100 total students in quarantine.

According to the district's latest update to its COVID-19 dashboard, there are 14 virus cases, out of which 11 are students and three are staff.

Some parents at Monday night's board meeting and board member Jeff Glenn called for a "mask and monitor" program that would allow healthy students and staff who are not sick to attend school without wearing a mask.

Under Glenn's proposal, students and staff who were exposed and weren't sick would have the option to either quarantine at home or attend school while masked with frequent temperature checks.

For now, however, McDonald said the district's "hands are tied."

"Until our health department changes what their recommendations are, we can't really do anything," McDonald said.

He recommended any residents who want changes made to consult with the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center.

"I've heard on the radio and other places that the board is on a power trip, and all we want to do is control what students can and can't do. That is the furthest thing from our hearts and minds," McDonald said. "We just ask for patience and understanding from the rest of the community until we get through this."