BOZEMAN — After a long meeting on Monday evening, the school board voted to approve an emergency declaration within the district that implements a face mask mandate.
The vote, 7-1, will make the mask mandate effective on Tuesday, August 24, 2021. The board also moved to make updates to the original mask policy.
As a result, Bozeman students will be returning to school next week under a mask mandate.
Hundreds of people joined the virtual meeting and dozens chimed in during public comment to express how they felt.
“I believe that parents should have the right to make medical decisions, not the seven of you, for my child, for any child,” one parent said. “I don’t believe you have the right to make that decision for my child.”
“Masks are a little more than a minor inconvenience in the scale of things,” said another parent. “If wearing a mask saves one child’s life or the life of a parent or grandparent, I think the inconvenience pales in comparison to the potential benefit.”
During the meeting, the board also agreed to hire Ray & Associates as the firm to conduct the search for the next superintendent.
The firm was selected after giving a presentation to the board along with one other firm. More details about the search will be released soon.
Here are links to articles about how other school districts in Montana are addressing the mask issue:
- GFPS trustees adopt mask policy
- Billings superintendent stands by mask mandate
- Helena schools: masks for pre-K to 8th-graders
- Butte schools will require masks for first 4 weeks
- Still no final word on masks in Billings schools
- Missoula schools requires masks to start school year
