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CHINOOK, Mont. (NMB) – The Chinook Public Schools Board of Trustees convened for their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday and voted to change their policies related to COVID-19.
The new protocol allows the Blaine County Health Department to contact trace staff and students, but not administration. The Health Department will then let administration know who has tested positive and when they will be cleared to return to school. Letters to parents can be sent out to close contacts, but they will suggest, not require, self-help measures such as quarantining. Masking is now completely optional.
This was one of two recommendations provided by the Board’s reopening COVID Committee that the Board was given the choice to decide on. The other recommendation would have eliminated contact tracing entirely while encouraging self-help protocols for those who feel concerned.
The Board has the ability to adjust policies in the future as the situation changes.
Superintendent Fred Hofman said he has spoken with the Office of Public Instruction, and there is no concern about impacts to their ESSER COVID-relief funds due to the change.
The District continues to take other safety measures such as ensuring improved air quality and sanitizing frequently touched surfaces.
Also at the meeting, the Board approved COVID related leave for staff. Staff who had to quarantine or isolate due to COVID in the recent past will have up to 10 days of paid leave provided. For staff who contract COVID and have to isolate, they will be given up to five days of paid leave.
With the recent elimination of government funded COVID leave, the District said this measure would be a great gesture to staff who have had no choice but to miss work.
Before the meeting adjourned, the Board approved a policy change meant to increase the penalty for students caught vaping on school grounds. Electronic smoking devices will now be considered drug paraphernalia. Students who are caught will be referred to police and could face an immediate short or long-term suspension.
School administration says that vaping has been an ongoing issue, and they have installed ‘vape detectors’ throughout the High School in an effort to deal with this problem.
These detectors are essentially extremely sensitive smoke detectors. However, they do not make a sound when they detect someone has been vaping. Instead, they alert administration via phone and email, and they are able to deal with the issue from there.
Hofman says they have seen students vaping on buses, at athletic events and in locker rooms and will continue to try and address the issue. He added that vaping devices can be filled with marijuana as well and have no place in school.
One parent suggested having students who are caught take an educational course on the dangers of vaping, and the administration said they would look it.
Hofman and Jr/Sr High School Principal Matt Molyneaux said that they have heard reports of adults vaping in the bathroom during athletic events. As a result, they have had to make announcements on the public address system to try and root out the issue.
Also at the meeting, administration announced that First Bank has tentatively agreed to sponsor the shot clocks which must be in place at High Schools for the 2022-23 basketball season. The estimated cost is between $5,000-$10,000, and part or all of it is now expected to be covered by the sponsor.
