Madison County votes to drastically reduce role of contact tracing in schools

By Willie S. Morrissey Last updated Apr 28, 2022

MADISON COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) – Schools in Madison County are taking another step back from COVID-19 mitigation measures.

A 4-to-1 vote at a school board meeting on Thursday, Jan. 27 means Madison County Public Schools are opting to get rid of most contact tracing cases, which the district said is taking a lot of time to nurses with little results.

“We have students, many students who have never had COVID-19 who have been quarantined two, three, four times,” said MCPS Superintendent Anna Graham.

The decision was supported by most of the speakers present at the meeting.

“We were touched,” said Kathy Chada, a parent. “I think we’ve had four quarantines in our family and it’s really affected the kids and their performance in school.”

But a minority of speakers criticized the decision that came so quickly after a vote to make masks optional.

“If everyone is wearing masks, which you all got rid of two weeks ago, you will have to do less contact tracing,” said Erich Moeller, another parent.

The decision did not remove all contact tracing, which will still occur during an outbreak or if someone in a household tests positive. But even that was met with some skepticism.

“This pandemic was out of proportion some time ago, if not an outright lie,” said Charles Sheads, Jr., the only board member to oppose the measure.

Sheads gave a speech lasting several minutes, and after that he said he wanted to get rid of all contact tracing. This proposal was greeted with applause from a large part of the crowd.

Other board members said it was important to keep him in these dire circumstances.

“We have a vested interest in trying to keep the spread going, you know, to keep the kids in school, to keep our teachers healthy, to keep our kids healthy,” school board member Angela Eichelberger said.

If a Madison County Public School student is identified as a close contact with an outbreak, they may remain in school with daily testing for a period of five days, along with strict mask wearing.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your topical advice here.