MTZ School Board fills vacant seat
By BLAKE FAITH
Staff Writer
The Mt. Zion School Board met on September 21 and appointed a new member to the board and discussed new COVID-19 regulations.
Kent Newton is the newly appointed member of the Mt. Zion School Board. Newton took over Dave Brandon’s chair and will serve the remaining term until 2023. Newton has two kids in the school district and is ready to hit the ground running.
“I want to help make sure that there’s quality education for the students and do what I can to help out,” Newton said.
There was also a new COVID-19 protocol brought up at the meeting. Illinois Executive Order 2021-24. The order states that a student or employee with a confirmed COVID positive or a probably positive test must be excluded for a minimum of 10 days following onset date of symptomatic or date of test if asymptomatic unless otherwise directed by the Macon County Health Department.
Close contact students and employees will continue to avoid exclusion if they are asymptomatic and vaccinated. An unvaccinated student or employee who is in close contact with a positive or probable case has the following three options. Option one, be excluded for 10-14 days as directed by MCHD. Option two, the asymptomatic student or employee can take a COVID-19 test on the sixth day or after and return in the seventh day or any day following if they have a negative test.
The third option is the student or employee who is asymptomatic can remain at school and school events if both the confirmed positive case or probable car and the close contact were masked for the entire exposure period and provided the close contact tests negative on days one, three five and seven following the exposure. If the notification occurs after the first day the close contact will test on the remaining days. As long as the student continues to test negative and provides the proof of test and results in a timely manner (every other day) the student will not be excluded.
The Mt. Zion school board’s next meeting will be held on October 19 at 6:30 p.m.
