Moniteau School District updated its health and safety plan at a school board work session Monday evening.

District Superintendent Aubrie Schnelle said the plan was updated to comply with the most recent guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which mainly covered quarantine requirements for students who test positive for COVID-19.

The new guideline said confirmed positive cases that currently are contagious are quarantined for five days. According to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard, Moniteau Junior-Senior High School had six students in quarantine and it and Dassa McKinney Elementary School each had one staff case as of Thursday.

Schnelle said the board has talked about potential new methods for COVID-19 mitigation in schools should an outbreak occur, but no measures have been made official.

“The goal is to keep our students in-person learning as long as possible,” she said.

Additionally, Schnelle said the district still recommends that students wear masks or face coverings in school facilities, but the number of students who fall into each camp varies.

“It is really up to the student and their family at this point,” Schnelle said. “So, some students wear them and some students don't.”

Additionally, the Moniteau school board had a special meeting in December during which it hired a new elementary school principal, Kevin Boariu, and a new guidance counselor, Chelsea Vanasco.