HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees met on Tuesday evening for a regularly scheduled meeting.
Interim Superintendent Craig Mueller provided an update on the District’s reopening plan. Since the return to four days a week of in person learning, Mueller says they have reported one classroom quarantine and four COVID-19 cases.
The current county positivity rate (6.43 percent) and daily case rate (23.4 cases per 100,000 people per day) are well below the target initially put in place to measure whether in-person learning should be increased from what was then at two days a week.
Mueller says staff have done a “tremendous job” adjusting to the new schedule, with adaptations being made as necessary.
Mueller stressed the need for parents to continue to check their children for symptoms before sending them to school, and reminded local residents that face coverings remain required on District property.
He adds that the addition of a remote teaching liaison at the High School and Middle School have helped ensure that remote learners remain on track.
Staff that received the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will be given the second dose either on February 10th or 12th.
Mueller says the current 3A schedule is a good balance to make sure remote and in-person students have their needs met.
Mueller says he will issue a recommendation at the next school board meeting on February 23rd on the reopening plan, but that the exact recommendation will depend on what happens over the next two weeks.
Actions taken at the meeting:
- A resolution that sets the upcoming Trustee election for May 4th. Four Trustee seats will be up for election. Two are currently held by Aileen Couch and Harvey Capellen, and the other two seats will be up for election because Brian Williams and Ed Hill recently resigned.
- First readings of numerous District policy revisions. These changes are being made at the advice of the MTSBA to keep the District up to speed with recent changes to Montana law
- An action item allowing the District to use Binax-NOW rapid COVID-19 testing on symptomatic students, as long as there is parental consent. Testing will be done by Jeri Erickson at the Robins Administration Building. The District has been using these tests on staff members since November, and Mueller says it has worked well. All funding for these tests comes from DPHHS.
- The authorization for transportation director Scott Filius to purchase two school busses to add to their fleet. They will be two gas busses, which are cheaper to maintain than diesel. The two busses being replaced are over 16 years old
- The extension of the current collective bargaining agreement between HPS and the Havre Education Association through June 2023
- The extension of the current collective bargaining agreement between HPS and the Havre Paraprofessional Education Association through June 2023
- The Board accepted the applications of Brandon Berreth, Erin Pulse, and Lorraine Larson for the Trustee seat that was vacated when Hill resigned. The Board will interview the three candidates at 6 PM on February 23rd. The person selected to fill the seat would be up for election this May.
