Malta Public School Board holds first meeting of 20-21

Publisher’s Note: On Saturday, September 12, Malta Public Schools announced the elementary school was notified that “individuals associated with the District had tested positive for COVID-19. According to the Phillips County Health Department, some of the District’s staff and students were in contact with these individuals during a period of possible exposure. The individuals last had contact with others in our school on September 9th, 3 days prior to their diagnosis. Since September 10th no staff or students have been exposed to these individuals. If anyone associated with the District is at risk of exposure, the Phillips County Health Department will be in contact with that person to determine a safe and appropriate course of action. It is still recommended that any person who feels sick or ill seek out their medical provider for specific instructions. The School District is in contact with the Health Department and reviewing the Centers for Disease Control guidance to complete deep cleaning of the school. Due to the timing of this diagnosis Malta Elementary will be closed September 14th and 15th to allow the Phillips County Health Department and the school to complete a thorough contact tracing.

Malta Middle School and Malta High School will still operate with a normal schedule at this time. Contact the elementary office for details about these measures. School officials will continue to monitor the situation and will provide further information if and when it becomes available.”

At the September 9th meeting of the Malta School Board, Elementary School Principal Cory Clark expressed gratitude to the staff and spoke to how hard everyone had been working to have a smooth start to the school year. He noted that all of the kids have been very good about social distancing and wearing masks, especially the kindergartners. The bus drop-off system and the changes in the cafeteria and mealtimes have gone well. He expressed some concerns about teachers getting less prep time now that students are staying in the rooms instead of switching classes, but overall it was a smooth start to the school year.

Although final enrollment numbers will be tabulated in October, currently the Elementary School has 214 students, both remote learners and in house. That number continues to fluctuate. He reported that due to the pandemic, the annual open house had been canceled. Picture Day will be October 22, and he proudly noted that the entire school was out of the building in 1 minute and 20 seconds during the first fire drill.

Principal Clark noted some building concerns, including the ongoing leak issues with the gym roof and assorted plumbing issues including sinks in the women’s restroom and wall.

Principal Travis Somerfeld reported a total of 109 students enrolled at Malta Middle School, which includes nine remote learners and three homeschoolers. The Middle School also had a smooth start, and while some adjustments have been made to the timing of the lunch schedule, the students and staff are happy to back and handling the changes very well.

Mr. Somerfeld also gave the Activity Director’s report, reporting 34 students participating in MHS Football and 20 competing for the Middle School. There are 25 athletes out for MHS Volleyball and 24 Middle-schoolers. Seven students are running Cross Country, and there are four cheerleaders this fall. Drug testing was completed last week and he noted that new test provides instant results.

Both the Music Festival and State Speech and Drama are up in the air, as both are hard to plan for at this point. Music Concerts will continue with an audience at this time. Malta will host the District 2B Volleyball Tournament in October and the District 3C Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament in February.

High School Principal Shawn Bleth also reported that the first weeks of school have exceeded expectations. Students have been handling masks and social distancing well, and the staff and teachers have worked very hard to make everything go smoothly.

Unofficial enrollment numbers are in flux, but at this point, there are 125 students with 11 distance learners. He noted that distance learning is the most challenging for teachers, as it is easy to lose touch with students this way. A discussion was held about students who are participating in athletics while distance learning and Principal Bleth assured the council that everyone is still held to the same expectations and that so far there has not been a problem.

The Malta High Student Council held elections the week of August 31st and Principal Bleth noted the absence of male candidates this year. He suggested that the Student Council become more involved with the School Board, and will have members attending School Board meetings beginning in October.

Homecoming is scheduled for the 3rd week of September. The theme this year is “Pull for the Blue” He noted that the schedule for dress-up days had been set, even though his idea for a “Dress as Your Favorite Teacher” day had been voted down. Homecoming Coronation will be on Friday, September 18th. Parents of royalty candidates are invited to attend, the event will be closed to the public and elementary students will not attend. The homecoming parade will proceed as normal. Senior Nights for football, volleyball, and cross country will also occur this week, in order to make sure all student-athletes get honored ahead of any unforeseen schedule changes.

Principal Bleth also noted that the Northeastern Arts Network sadly had to cancel this year’s tour.

In Action Items, the 2020-21 Contracts, Out of District Student Attendance Agreement, and the Certified Collective Bargaining Agreement all passed with unanimous support.

Matt Genger gave the Superintendent’s Report. He highlighted the need to set goals and prioritize building maintenance for all facilities. Noting issues including airflow, door locks, and plumbing, he encouraged the board to make this their number one priority and to begin to formulate both a 5-10 year and a 15-20 year long-term plan. He provided the board with two different ways to supplement the budget to address the replacement of doors, noting that Title 4 funds and the Transportation budget could be used for safety concerns.

Patrick Sargent gave the Transportation report, stating that although he had personally made sure every bus had been started every three weeks, they had experienced “the perfect storm” the weekend before with three buses not starting or having serious maintenance issues. He expressed his gratitude to Dennis Oxarart for his above and beyond help in getting one bus going, and to the program at Grass Range that got the kids where they needed to go and noted that he had sent out thank you cards to them. He suggested that each bus needed to have a substantial toolbox on board to deal with problems that happen on the highway.

The next meeting of the Malta School Board will be Wednesday, October 14, at 7: p.m. in the Malta Middle/High School Boardroom.