School board fine-tunes reopening plan

The Kalispell Public Schools Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved a phased operational framework for reopening in August for the 2020-21 school year that, for now, strongly encourages and may require the use of masks for students.

The district, along with other public school districts in the valley, have established similar general safety and health measures and on-site/remote learning plans for phases zero to three.

Phase three is the closest to school resuming as normal, with buildings open and on-site learning. On the end of the spectrum, phase zero means buildings are closed and remote learning will take place.

Montana is currently in phase two of Gov. Steve Bullock’s plan to reopen the state.

If schools open in this phase, group sizes are not to exceed 50. Kalispell Public Schools plans to deliver instruction on-site, but families may opt for remote learning whether or not they have a health reason, which is a change from a previous draft.

“Part of the reason [for the revision] is students may live with family members who have underlying health conditions, or grandparents or something like that, so we wanted to make this as flexible as possible,” Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Micah Hill said.

Parents are required to screen their child’s health before they arrive at school in phases one through three.

“We’re putting that onus on the parent and what I envision is we would have an email that goes out weekly that says, ‘parents please remember to check your child’s temperature,’” Hill said.

Students and staff who are sick, feel sick, or have symptoms must not go to school, per the district’s COVID-19 Emergency Measures policy which is part of the district’s 1900 series that addresses all areas of operating a district amid the COVID-19 pandemic in more detail.

In an instance where a child is experiencing or complaining of symptoms, the policy authorizes school staff to check a child’s temperature.

People entering buildings also will be required to sanitize their hands in phases one through three.

“Hand sanitizing stations will be available at entrance of school buildings so they can sanitize their hands when they enter,” Hill said. “The good news is we’re getting 360 gallons a month of hand sanitizer.”

Masks are also addressed in phase two in the updated plan. According to the plan, which is subject to change, “face coverings [are] required for staff when unable to maintain 6 feet of distance.” However, for students, masks are “strongly encouraged and may be required.” Some trustees raised concerns that not requiring students wear masks at the start will create an uneven playing field, leading students, who might otherwise attend school on-site, to decide to learn remotely. Public comments in Tuesday’s meeting and the previous board meeting have been favorable to requiring everyone wear masks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends both students and staff wear “cloth face coverings” during the school day.

Some administrators, such as Kalispell Public Schools Human Resources Director Tracy Scott, although supportive of wearing masks, said a principal approached her about the challenges it will pose for the district’s kindergarten and first-graders. She also pointed out the difficulties adults in the board room, who understand the situation, were having in wearing masks. Throughout the lengthy board meeting some kept fidgeting with their masks. Some masks dangled on one ear and others were pushed beneath noses.

There were also concerns of who would enforce wearing masks properly if required and if a student didn’t comply what that would look like discipline-wise.

“Do we send them home?” Kalispell Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Callie Langohr asked. “Because that’s the reality.”

Also in phase two, field trips will be allowed on a case-by-case basis in phase two. Extracurricular activities will resume with limitations on activity type, group size, activity, health protocols and Montana High School Association regulations.

“We just need a jumping-off point to work on the finer points of this, but all of this is subject to change at any time,” Hill reminded the board, based on guidelines or directives.

Surveys have been sent to families this week to help determine how many students will return to the classroom and how many want to learn remotely. Scott addressed the employee end of working on- and off-site.

“You might potentially have two camps of employees. You might have camp of employees who are not able to come to work because they qualify for FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act), or are compromised in some way, and then you may have those employees that are able to come because they’re not covered, don’t have any compromising conditions, but they choose not to and so the priority [of working remotely] is going to go to the folks that do qualify under FFCRA,” Scott said, noting there is more discussion to come.

In establishing a phased plan, school districts started with Gov. Steve Bullock’s approach of reopening Montana. Districts also took into consideration guidelines from the Montana Office of Public Instruction, CDC and Flathead City-County Health Department.

Schools will rely on the health department to handle issues such as contact tracing, should someone test positive for COVID-19 — and whether that means closing a grade level or an entire building(s) to clean and disinfect.

“School starts about a month feel a lot of things can happen between now and then,” Hill said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.