Post Falls Schools go to 'yellow'

The Post Falls School Board voted Monday evening to move the Post Falls School District from the “orange” COVID-19 risk category into “yellow.”

The 4-1 vote took place during a special meeting at River City Middle School, following about 20 individuals weighing in during public comment.

Emotions ran high at times as parents implored the board to make the change.

Mom Stephanie Traw said she has seen a decline in her kids’ education.

“When you have two tablets to work with four children, and every assignment has to be done … what child or two or all of them are going to fall behind?” she asked.

Many of those who approached the mic cited several reasons to urge the board to go “yellow” — students experiencing depression, social-emotional disconnect, struggling with the homework and lack of child care. Some made it clear that they’re parents, not teachers trained in student instruction.

“What my job is not is an educator of children,” small business owner Steven Valadez said. “I’m not an educator. That’s not what my training is, that’s not what my experience is, but that’s what I’m having to do. The decisions that have been made here in recent days have really let down our families, let down our students. They’ve put tremendous pressure on parents.

“The people who make that decision are not police and firefighters, their job is to not keep us safe. They’re not doctors and nurses, they are not to be concerned with our health. They are educators, yet they are not doing their job,” he continued, turning to address the trustees. “What I ask is that you please do your job, so that we can get back to doing our job.”

All but Trustee Michelle Lippert voted in favor of the change. The motion was made by Trustee Bridget Malek and seconded by Trustee Bonnie Beaulieu.

“Staying in ‘orange’ is the cautious and safest thing to do at this moment,” Lippert said.

Malek said when the decision was made last week to stay in “orange,” the board was under the impression that Kootenai County would move back to “orange.” She and her colleagues have since received numerous emails and comments from parents about how much their children want and need to go back to five days a week.

“We have to continue to move forward,” Malek said. “The reality is COVID is never going to go away. It’s like head lice and it’s like the flu. We are going to have to learn how to manage this because it is not disappearing. It is here now.

“We have to learn to manage COVID, but we cannot do it at the expense of not continuing to educate our children the best way that we know how, and that is with a teacher in front of them.”

Malek received applause after her statement, as did the board when the vote to go “yellow” was final.

Post Falls School District defines the “yellow” phase as “community spread and/or sustained transmission with high likelihood or confirmed exposure within communal settings, with potential for rapid increase in suspected cases.” Students will attend school full time with implementation of the Panhandle Health District or other governmental agency mask mandate and with additional reasonable procedures in accordance with health guidance. An online option will be available for students.

“Yellow” will be implemented Monday.

Info: www.pfsd.com