Flathead High School will move to remote instruction on Friday, March 5, while the school hosts the Class AA state boys wrestling tournament.

Glacier High School students will continue in-person learning as usual.

The idea to conduct the school day remotely at Flathead was to provide space for wrestling teams to spread out across the school without impacting classroom learning and minimizing the number of people the student body and staff come into contact with.

About 260 wrestlers from around the state are expected to compete at the tournament, which continues through Saturday. The number of spectators will be limited to two per athlete as part of COVID-19 restrictions aligned with Montana High School Association requirements and considerations. Everyone will be required to wear masks, with the exception of wrestlers while they are actively competing, warming up and cooling down.

Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Micah Hill brought the recommendation to go remote before the school board on Feb. 23. Although the crowd will be limited, he said much of the building will be used.

Factoring into the decision to go remote instead of canceling school was meeting contract obligations for the number of days classified employees work. Hill said classified employees, which don’t include teachers, have been given alternatives for the work day.

Traditionally, the district has canceled school for other special events such as music festivals and speech tournaments, but that is done when the calendar is set for the school year, and a final decision about the site of the state tournament was delayed this year.

School board trustee Rebecca Linden was the lone vote against going remote.

“I find it really, really difficult to think of telling 1,500 of our Flathead High School students that they need to give up their in-person day and have a remote day to help roughly, you know, 260 students across the state,” Linden said, prior to voting.

“I really think, first, we are an educational institution and our first priority has to be in-person classes for our student body,” she added, asking what other possibilities were explored.

Trustee Diane Morton Stout, on the other hand, viewed it as an opportunity to continue supporting students in multiple endeavors.

“Whether a music festival, or a speech tournament, or wrestling, I see it as something pretty exciting — an opportunity we have. I don’t see it as disrespectful to our students. I think it’s a wonderful thing we have the opportunity to go remote so that we don’t have to cancel school,” Morton Stout said.

Another trustee asked about whether or not the district could follow-up with students regarding COVID-19 testing to prevent a possible “superspreader event.”

“We talked about this at length with the Montana High School Association, with legal council, and there’s nothing we can do to require anybody to be tested, or otherwise,” Hill said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].