STEVENSVILLE — A confirmed COVID-19 case surfaced at the Stevensville Public Schools District on Wednesday, prompting leaders to send students home early and convert to distance learning immediately.
Superintendent Robert Moore stated in a letter that the District was notified Wednesday by Ravalli County Public Health that a student tested positive for COVID-19. The student last attended classes in-person on Tuesday.
The school board met for an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening and voted to extend remote learning through Monday. By then, they’re hoping to have completed contact tracing.
The Stevensville School Board also unanimously voted to suspend all extracurricular activities until contact tracing is complete or the administration deems it safe to resume activities.
All sporting events have the possibility to be rescheduled and those that aren't are ruled as a no-contest per Montana High School Association guidelines.
Like many schools in the Bitterroot Valley, Stevensville is experiencing staffing shortages, which they say ultimately led to their school closure on Wednesday.
“Our decision today was largely based on the fact that, as I've been informing the board for the last two weeks, we were precariously close to not being able to staff our classrooms,” said Superintendent Robert Moore.
With Ravalli County’s recent spike in cases, school officials expect contact tracing will take until at least Monday.
Ravalli County Public Health reported 19 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday bringing the total number of active cases to 49.