The Somers-Lakeside School Board on Thursday voted to make face coverings optional for students this school year, reversing a previous decision that made masks mandatory.

According to Superintendent Joe Price, the board voted 3-2 during the special meeting that lasted more than two hours. One board member was absent and one abstained.

Price said 44 people commented on the district's mask policy. In the end, the board decided to begin the school year with face coverings "optional and strongly recommended." Face masks are still required for all when riding the bus under federal law.

"We will continue with our other Covid protocols, including regular hand washing, teaching respiratory etiquette, frequent cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, seating charts for all necessary areas, teaching, modeling and implementation of social distancing, avoiding 15-minute cumulative close contacts, and having parents screen for symptoms before children come to school," Price said in a message sent to parents on Friday.

The district includes Somers Middle School, which serves approximately 270 students in fifth through eighth grades, as well as Lakeside Elementary School, a kindergarten through fourth-grade facility with about 270 students.

The first day of school for the district is Tuesday.

The board voted at its Aug. 23 meeting to make masks mandatory for the first six weeks of school. Price had recommended the mandatory mask rule based upon a Flathead County health officer report that showed a significant increase in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations over the last few weeks.

Earlier this week, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced a rule that encourages schools to give parents final say on whether children should wear face coverings.

The new rule says schools should consider "parental concerns" when adopting mask mandates and should provide parents the ability to opt out of health-related mandates for a wide array of reasons, including physical and mental health, developmental needs, religious beliefs and moral convictions.

Price said he told the board that he considered the rule as permissive since it states that schools "should" consider parental concerns. However, he said others at the meeting viewed it as a directive.

"Our trustees received plenty of input from the community about their concerns with masks and gave (Gianforte's rule) due consideration," he said.

Only two school districts in Flathead County are requiring masks this school year — Whitefish and West Glacier.

The Whitefish School District is requiring students and staff in kindergarten through sixth grade to wear masks while indoors. Masks are optional — but strongly encouraged — for grades seven through 12.

Masking in schools is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Managing editor Matt Baldwin may be reached at 406-758-4447 or mbaldwin@dailyinterlake.com.