Local schools consider ending mask mandates

With vaccine rollouts for staff on the horizon and pressure mounting from local activists, schools in southern Lincoln County are considering lifting mask requirements in the coming months.

Troy Public School Board members plan to rescind the district’s face covering requirements on April 5 if there are fewer than four new positive cases in the district on that date. The March 9 announcement made on social media stated that board members still encourage people to wear masks.

Jacob Francom, Troy superintendent, said the board selected the date because it marked a week after the district’s spring break. This would give health officials time to detect new cases of the virus that might originate from students and staff traveling during the vacation. School officials also received gentle but persistent requests to outline the district’s plans for lifting face covering requirements, according to Francom.

Libby Public School Board members voted on March 8 to table a policy that would reiterate the district’s mask requirements. Although administrators will continue to require face coverings, the action marks a departure from the board’s previously firm stance on the issue.

During a February meeting, member Bgee Zimmerman said lawyers recommended the policy as a way to protect the district from potential lawsuits.

State lawmakers have passed legislation to shield business owners from litigation if an individual were to die or suffer injury after being exposed to the coronavirus on their property. While representatives passed a bill on March 1 to extend these protections to schools and other public services, the legislation must be crossed-over to the state Senate and signed by the governor before becoming law.

During the March 8 meeting, Zimmerman pitched tabling the policy as a compromise between those who would like to see the requirements lifted and those who hope to keep them in place.

“We have to think of all the students; we have to think of all our staff,” she said.

The mask policy will return to the school board agenda following a March 18 meeting between district and Lincoln County Health Department staff. By that time, school employees who are interested in being vaccinated will likely have received their first dose through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

Zimmerman said the board would have a better grasp on how to handle the mask policy after these developments.

Depending on how the pandemic progresses, board members in Libby have considered switching from a mask requirement to a mask recommendation at the end of April. While Superintendent Ron Goodman said there is still too much uncertainty to set a firm policy, he indicated March 5 that vaccinating staff would be a critical step towards easing requirements.

Goodman has continued to voice support for retaining the district’s mask requirements throughout the pandemic. During previous school board meetings, Goodman has pointed to data gathered by the district that show masks are effective at mitigating the spread of the virus in schools.

Following Gov. Greg Gianforte’s decision to lift the statewide mandate in early February, the superintendent noted that Gianforte’s executive order recommends that districts adhere to guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC advises that schools implement mask and social distancing policies to reduce transmission of the virus.

Some board members argued the district should go further and vote the face covering policy down. Sam Rosling said he felt uncomfortable extending the district’s mask requirement by tabling the policy as the state and county had dropped similar mandates.

“I’m not a physician and I can’t tell a kid that he or she needs to be wearing a mask at this point because our health officials have made it not mandatory but a recommendation,” said Rosling.

For the past couple weeks, a group of students at the Libby Middle High School has circulated a petition throughout the community in hopes of repealing the district’s mask requirements. Samantha Newton, one of the student organizers, told board members during the March 8 meeting that the group had gathered 161 signatures from parents, students and family members.

Newton said petitioners deemed the mask requirements an infringement on their constitutional rights. She pointed out that while school staff members ask students to wear face coverings, they do not always require members of sports teams to mask up.

Administrators have said they support the student’s right to voice their opinions. Ruth Vanworth-Rogers, middle high school principal, said the movement was a good lesson in civics for the students.

Board members voted 4-2 to table the policy with Rosling and Alida Leigh in dissent.