At a special called board meeting on January 18, 2022 board members gathered to discuss the impacts of COVID across the Grant County School District. Superintendent Matthew Morgan shared current numbers with the board and the impact we are seeing, "We had 38 new cases just today, sustaining our staff to remain in-person is becoming harder each day." Board member Lisa Smith made the motion to transition to a universal mask requirement, the motion was seconded by Gene Nelson. The resulting discussion was one of mixed thoughts. Board Chair, Debbie Rogers did not want to see the district return to masking, "masks are germ-infested and do nothing to stop the spread of the virus." Other board members, Lori Flerlage and Charlotte Schmidt felt that if we can keep our student's in-person longer with a mask and not have to quarantine our students, then that would be a good trade. Recent CDC guidelines changed to state that schools with a universal mask requirement would no longer be required to complete contact tracing of their students. Board members felt time contact tracing takes away from building leadership could be more beneficial in other places, like leading their school. Ultimately the motion passed with a 4-1 vote. Grant County Schools now require masks of all students, staff, and visitors beginning January 19, 2022. The board is going to reevaluate the current impact COVID has on the district at their next board meeting, February 10, 2022.