Havre Public Schools to stay in-person 4-days-a-week

The Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees, in a split vote, decided to follow Havre Public Schools Interim Superintendent Craig Mueller’s recommendation to stay in schedule 3A, maintaining the four-day-a-week of in-person learning model that they adopted last month.

Mueller said he compiled feedback from HPS staff to see what they thought about moving to schedule 3B, which would involve students having in-person learning five days a week and received concern and dismay at the idea almost universally.

He said despite the challenges, staff have adjusted to the schedule 3A and are working effectively in it, with remote teachers and in-person teachers using Fridays — the designated remote-learning day — as an opportunity for collaboration and a time to help remote-learning students catch up with their in-person counter parts.

He said without this opportunity for collaboration the divide between remote and in-person learners will grow, putting the former in a more and more difficult position compared to their fellow students.

Mueller said while the number of remote learners, whether that is by choice or because of quarantine, is decreasing, it is still a substantial number of people.

He said Friday has also become an important day for curriculum review, and for deep cleaning for many departments.

“I think the consistency that comes from being able to stay in a schedule and continue the work being done across the district is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff,” he said.

While staff have adjusted well, he said, they are dealing with unique challenges, having seen a noticeable, if predictable, increase in behavioral referrals as students have returned to in-class learning and expectations are reestablished.

He said the school system also has a staffing issue that many have been trying to address, albeit with limited success.

“Staffing remains a concern, and not for lack of trying,” he said.

Mueller said Havre just doesn’t have the same access to potential personnel that other areas of the state have, and, as a result, the K-5 building has only been fully staffed two days this year.

Despite these issues and the obvious social, emotional, and mental health advantages of face-to-face instruction, he said, the health of the students is paramount and because the situation with COVID-19 is still in flux, he believes schedule 3A is the best option

He said the recent surge of COVID-19 in Sunnyside Intermediate School is evidence enough of how quickly a situation can change, potentially resulting in a need to go fully-remote, which no one wants.

Mueller said he will send out a survey today to parents to get their input and the results of that survey will be presented at the board’s March 9 meeting for their consideration.

Board Member Scott Adams, after stressing his belief that people should be able to disagree and the board needs to communicate ideas without fear of repercussion, that his duty is to use his own independent judgment without surrendering it to special interest groups, and that the purpose of the board is to ensure the educational welfare of the students, asked Mueller a series of questions about his recommendation.

Adams said it appears to him that HPS staff’s biggest concern at the moment is a lack of resources and such resources should be made available so the schools can move into schedule 3B.

“This is no longer about COVID, these responses are about teachers not feeling like they have the resources necessary,” he said.

Mueller said he didn’t fully understand the query and said it appears that Adams was effectively asking why the district isn’t in schedule 3B already, which is not what Mueller is recommending.

Adams then moved on to ask Mueller why he didn’t send the survey he referenced in his recommendation out to parents to get a bigger sample size.

Mueller said the survey he sent to staff was specifically tailored to them, and their feedback is the primary informer of his recommendations.

He said the survey for parents is a separate matter for the board to consider and they would have the results of it for the March 9 meeting.

Adams then asked about a pair of letters he received, one signed by the teachers of Lincoln-McKinley Primary School and the other from those of Highland Park Early Primary School, which had nearly identical wording but were separated by some time.

Principals from both schools, who were present at the meeting, said this is the first they’ve heard of such letters and if Adams has questions he should go to the teachers who sent it.

Adams then asked why federal money the schools received or will receive isn’t going toward resources that will help get the schools to schedule 3B.

Mueller said the issues the school faces are not so much a matter of funds but a lack of access to potential personnel.

He also said just because ideas for those funds are not being discussed in these meetings doesn’t mean they are not being discussed at all.

Adams said other schools he’s spoken with recently are doing things like offering summer school and half-days on Friday, but before he could continue Board Member Theresa Miller interrupted and said this section of the meeting was specifically to ask Mueller questions about his recommendations, not a platform for personal opinions.

Board Vice-Chair Harvey Capellen agreed with Miller and asked Adams to stick to questions for Mueller.

Adams said that’s what he was doing and continued.

He said he’s heard frustration from staff that they can’t hold remote students accountable for not participating and many of those students are falling behind.

“How is that helping the students and teachers by not going to five days?” he asked.

Mueller said the schools have policies that lay out expectations for students and parents with regard to remote learning and ultimately they’re held to the same standard as in-person students, so he doesn’t really understand the question.

“Those remote learners are afforded every opportunity as face-to-face learners are,” he said. “I don’t think an appropriate response is to then say, ‘Well, then they have to come back to school.’ There are a myriad of reasons why parents made the decision for students to stay remote.”

Board Member Tim Scheele asked Mueller if, based on the apparent wide-spread sentiment among HPS staff that schedule 3A is working, it might be beneficial to just make the current schedule the norm throughout the year so they can make longer-term plans.

Mueller said that kind of decision is at the discretion of the board.

Capellen said he’s reached out to HPS staff on his own and the consensus he’s seen lines up with Mueller’s.

The board then made a motion to stay in schedule 3A and a number of HPS staff spoke in favor of the motion, and none spoke in opposition to it.

Havre High School Principal Ed Norman was among those who spoke in favor, despite noting his desire to see students back in class.

“I’d like to have every kid in school five days a week, but right now that’s just not a reality for us,” he said.

He said his job as a principal is looking out for his staff, some of whom are nearly 70 years old, and almost all of whom have expressed serious concerns about moving the 3B.

The board voted 6-1 for the motion with Adams voting no.

The board then discussed changes to the school policy and again took the advice of Mueller who recommended that policy that requires physical distancing of six feet include the language, “if possible.”

He said this was a simple change that acknowledges the fact that six feet isn’t always possible in the schools.

The second change Mueller recommended was that the board adopt a mask policy in line with the recent health order made by the Hill County Health Department, one that would be revisited when the county’s per capita spread of COVID-19 drops to 10 per week per 100,000 residents.

Adams said his understanding was that the county’s order would apply to the schools regardless, but Mueller said the county is still looking at how to enforce the order and it would be a good idea to make it school policy in the meantime.

“I believe (the policies) will ensure the safety of our staff and students for the remainder of the year,” he said.

The board voted 6-1 to adopt both of Mueller’s recommended changes, with Adams voting no.

He said he preferred masks to be a personal choice and praised House Bill 435 which would remove liability for COVID-19 related incidents with the exception of those caused by negligence which he said was a win.

He also said he thinks it’s unfair for students to wear masks in class when student athletes are not required to do so at their events.

Capellen said the Montana High School Association is in charge of those requirements and the HPS doesn’t really have a choice in the matter, and reminded Adams that the policy change is all they’re supposed to be addressing at the moment talking about.

The board, also voted 6-1 to appoint Lorraine Larson as a member of the board until the next election cycle.

The board interviewed three candidates at the meeting before making a decision.

The first was Brandon Berreth, a 13-year employee who worked in the maintenance department and assisted with Special Olympics athletes.

Second was Larson, who retired from Havre Public Schools after 40 years with the district and coached for many of those years.

And the third, Erin Pulse, worked as a substitute teacher, was a paraprofessional, having worked for HPS for 3 1/2 years, and has children currently going to school in the district.

Adams said he thinks all three candidates have advantages, with Berreth demonstrating a great attitude and a desire to be a conduit for the community, Larson having a tremendous amount of experience and institutional knowledge, and Pulse having children in they system providing her a valuable perspective.

Board members thanked all three candidates for attending the meeting and praised them for their performance in the interview.

The board then voted 6-1 to appoint Larson with Adams voting no.