EXCELSIOR SPRINGS – With the COVID-19 Delta variant making more children sick than the original virus, the school board voted Monday to require masks in school. This follows the district’s earlier measures in anticipation of schools opening. Deputy Superintendent Jaret Tomlinson confirmed Aug. 15 the district had sent an email blast with PDF attachments of a COVID protocol sheet Aug. 10. About 6,000 emails were sent, Tomlinson said. Tomlinson notified district leaders about the email blast near the end of the Board of Education’s Aug. 9 meeting at the old Early Childhood Center. In preparing the sheet, district staff sought to develop methods to address COVID risks, understanding “there is no one thing that’s going to lessen the risk,” Tomlinson said. Those methods include taking student and staff temperatures before entering school buildings, recommending self-monitoring to students and parents, and getting staff and students to social distance. “These are all important strategies…