School board approves COVID plans for upcoming year

The Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees during a special meeting in Havre Middle School Tuesday unanimously approved a series of motions including plans on how to handle the upcoming school year.

The board followed the recommendations of Superintendent Craig Mueller, including on extending the district's declaration of emergency, making masks optional during the next school year and amending requirements on physical distancing to three feet and amending requirements on playgrounds, removing the requirement of staff having to greet children outside of the schools as they arrive, removing the authorization of testing the temperatures of students, and a plan of return to schools and continuity of services listing the actions taken over the past 15 months.

The actions taken in the past year have been in accordance with government and health agency requirements and recommendations.

Audience member Scott Adams, who briefly served on the board this year, spoke against the continuation of the declaration of emergency, saying he believed Havre and Hill County are not under a state of emergency.

The city and county are still under declarations of emergency, they confirmed this morning.

Montana and the United States also still are in emergency conditions.

Mueller told the board the continued declaration would allow the district to adapt as needed as conditions change. The declaration is through June of next year unless the board votes to rescind it previously.

Board member Tim Scheele asked if the declaration would allow the district to continue to use provisions such as counting remote learning time toward enrollment and budgets.

Mueller said that is correct.

Several audience members spoke in favor of adjusting policies including to allow masks to be optional, although several also said the actions of the district in the past year have made it difficult for students.

Mueller said masks will be available at all the schools for people to use, but the district will not push people to wear masks and will not encourage people to wear masks.

"They will be provided," he said.

When asked if the district had enough masks, he said it did.

"We have thousands of masks," he said.

"We will never have to buy masks again," district clerk and business manager Shanna Flores said, adding, "We didn't buy these."

Jill Cammon said, as a teacher and a parent, she supported the changes.

"I think it's time to get back to school," she said.

In his superintendent's report, Mueller said he has some good news for the district.

He said the district will be interviewing a number of teacher applicants this Thursday, and Monday is interviewing a candidate for assistant superintendent, which has been empty since he took over as interim superintendent last summer and was selected as superintendent this year.

He said the district also will be holding job fairs Monday, Aug. 2 from 4-7 p.m. and Tuesday, Aug. 3, from 8 a.m. to noon where local residents can come "in a speed dating game format," Mueller said, to learn about positions available in the district. He said the district wants to attract more people to be involved and to be more involved with the people in the community.

Wednesday, Aug. 4, will have new teacher orientation, and the return to school for teachers and staff will be Aug. 23.

He said the district is hopeful that will be the start to "a really normal approach to the year."