Bigfork school board votes to continue online learning

The Bigfork School Board voted to continue online learning for the remainder of the school year due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus at their Wednesday evening meeting with five members in favor and two opposed. Trustees met at the high school library and more than two dozen others tuned in to the discussion via Google Meets.

Governor Steve Bullock issued reopening guidelines for schools April 22, which left the decision to reopen for classroom learning as early as May 7 up to individual districts. School District 38 trustees weighed opinions from both sides of the issue before ultimately deciding in favor of continuing remote education, with the option to bring a select number of students to campus, as deemed necessary by school principals. For example, seniors who are at the risk of not graduating or students in need of emotional support.

Superintendent Matt Jensen estimated that the school could accommodate up to 20 students at the moment, with the potential for more later in the school year. Those in favor of continuing the status quo argued that the school was providing high-quality online instruction, the logistical challenges of planning a return could place an undue burden on staff and attendance may suffer, since all students and staff may not feel it safe to return, even if the school did choose to open its doors.

“I think it would be trying to push water uphill trying to open school for the next 22 days. I don’t think that’s fair to our staff,” said vice board chair Zack Anderson.

Trustee Christina Relyea said there may not be many cases of COVID-19 now, but was concerned that numbers could increase once people start traveling again.

“We have Bigfork students who aren’t in Montana, who are flying back … you don’t know if they’re infected,” she said.

Attendees who wanted the school to resume on-campus learning pointed to the fact that there hadn’t been any new cases of coronavirus in the Flathead Valley for two weeks and that keeping students at home increased the risk for child abuse and neglect, which is primarily reported through the school system.

“There’s no substitute for a brick and mortar education,” said board chair Paul Sandry. “Given the statistics …. We’re the perfect place to open a school, especially one this size, and I think we should do it.”

Parent and Lake County Undersheriff Ben Woods also spoke out in favor of opening the school.

“I wish you guys could open the school. Bigfork is not New York City, it’s not Italy, it’s not even Bozeman,” he said. “Leadership is all about managing the known risk and I think the risk that we know is manageable.”

Trustees Jessica Martinz, Dana Whitney, Christina Relyea, Zack Anderson, Aaron Parish were in favor of continuing online learning while trustee Dan Elwell and board chair Paul Sandry were opposed. Jensen also noted that plans for graduation were underway and confirmed that this year’s ceremony would be different from previous years.

“The graduation issue is really about a mass gathering,” Jensen explained. “There’s nowhere in the country where they are talking about mass gatherings being an acceptable thing.”