The Fort Atkinson School Board voted on Thursday to require masks for all students in each grade level district-wide. Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinThe decision was made after a Fort Atkinson Middle School student died on Tuesday while positive with COVID-19. Danny Rees, 13, had a cold and days later, stopped breathing, according to his mother, Tammy Rees. Tammy created a GoFundMe, detailing what happened to her son. "He had been congested for two days with what seemed like a cold. While resting at home, he stopped breathing. We are besides ourself with loss," Tammy said on the GoFundMe. She did not wish to speak to WISN 12. The Jefferson County medical examiner confirmed to WISN 12 Danny tested positive at the hospital, just before his death, for COVID-19. Though the exact cause of death is still unknown. Outraged parents on both sides of the mask debate sounded off against school board members on Thursday. "It doesn't help masked children in school when a quarter of the children wear masks. It doesn't help children who are immuno-compromised or have certain disabilities that want to be in school," said a tearful Jennifer Slack, who pushed for a mask mandate in schools. "I don't think you should be guilted, pressured, into making choices for everybody. We all need to take charge and make our own choices," said Sara Anderson, who argued for personal choice. Prior to Thursday's school board meeting, masks were optional in the Fort Atkinson school district. The district would call families if there was a positive case in a classroom. "It's certainly frustrating when you see these school board members ignore the signs, ignore the evidence, ignore what's going on on the ground," said Jefferson County Health Department public information officer, Samroz Jakvani. "Our recommendation put forth to them more than a month ago was based on case rates that we were seeing and we strongly recommended they implement COVID mitigation measures provided to them via CDC, DHS, DPI and ourselves."The county health department's health officer issued a memo to the superintendent and school board on Thursday, urging them to at least implement a mask mandate. The district sent WISN 12 the letter it sent to parents, regarding Rees' death:"Dear FAMS Families,This morning, while students were in homerooms, I shared the news that Danny Rees, a 7th-grade student, and member of the Fort Atkinson Middle School family, died unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.This news is never easy to share or receive however I am glad that we were all together to support and comfort each other in this difficult time. Our amazing pupil services team and additional grief counselors were available to support children and staff as needs arose throughout the day, and we will continue to use our pupil support staff in this capacity in the days ahead.At this time we do not know how Danny died, and there is a chance we may not ever know. We ask that people refrain from making assumptions or guesses as these can be hard for family and friends who are already feeling saddened by the news of his death. As we navigate this tragic event, it’s important for everyone involved to remember who Danny was as a person and keep his family and friends in our thoughts; our focus needs to remain on how we can all support and take care of each other.As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to the middle school if there is anything that we could do to support you and your child through this tragic time."Sign up for coronavirus email alerts from WISNGet breaking news alerts with the WISN 12 app.Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube