Missoula County Public Schools

Lodge to distribute $14,000 in winter clothing Nov. 5, host youth basketball competition Nov. 8

Missoula’s Pride flag loophole and recordings of educators discussing ways to circumvent parents prompt statewide compliance directive

District Warns of Quarantine for Unvaccinated Kids as Local Health Officials Stoke Hysteria

Last Tuesday’s meeting of the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees came to order at 6pm with all trustees present except for Trustee Michael Gehl. Following the pledge of allegiance, the board approved the minutes of the April 12th meeting during which a parent had read the contents of a homework assignment given out by a…

In a call from State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen Wednesday night, the head of the Office of Public Instruction told Free Missoula News that her office was notified of the sexual orientation questionnaire shared by a Missoula sex education teacher at Sentinel High School and that the matter is being investigated by her office. Arntzen said…

UPDATED (04/13/2021): Post updated to reflect comments from State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen whose office is investigating the situation. A Missoula sexual education teacher distributed a handout titled “Questions for Exploring Sexual Orientation” to Sentinel High School students, according to parents and confirmed by school officials. The questions on the handout asked students to consider changing…

The March 29th Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting began at 6pm starting with The Pledge of Allegiance. Nine trustees were in attendance with Mike Gehl calling in via Zoom. Approximately 35 members of the community were present in the audience for the in-person meeting. Public comment for non-agenda items began with a…

Within a few weeks we will be getting ballots in the mail for a May vote that includes the opportunity to elect some new people to the Missoula County School Board. Recently I had the opportunity to interact with six of the candidates running in 2022.  Each is a parent, and all are running because…

On Tuesday night, the regular meeting of the Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) Board of Trustees was suspended by board chair Diane Lorenzen after trustee Mike Gehl declined to wear a mask. An agenda item that was set for discussion was Montana High School Association sports eligibility issues, which the chair mentioned was “popular with…

Over 500 Montana signatories including school board trustees from Flathead, Lincoln, Missoula, and Ravalli counties and two-dozen elected officials have signed on to a “Vote of Confidence” letter supporting Montana’s head of schools, State Superintendent of Instruction Elsie Arntzen. “We write to refute the unauthorized “no-confidence” letter recently sent to you by certain school superintendents…

This past Saturday, Lewis and Clark Public Health Department advertised a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at East Helena Public High School aimed at children aged 5-11-years-old. The ad indicated that proof of the child’s name and age was not required and children need only be accompanied by a “caregiver.” How do government employees at a clinic…

“Lawyers are a useful tool. When you feel like you are in a bind, talking to the right lawyer can be such a breath of fresh air. It can be a conversation from which you walk away saying “Phew! I have options I didn’t even realize I had.” Life feels better with options. Life can…

District Court Judge Jason Marks denied parents request for injunctive relief against Missoula County Public School mask mandates on Friday, issuing a 16-page order that said the parents did not provide sufficient evidence that rights to privacy or dignity were being violated. Judge Marks also said that injunctive relief was denied because parents did not…

Missoula County Court Room 4 was at capacity with families and students this morning for oral arguments in a lawsuit brought by parents against mask mandates from Missoula County schools. Judge Jason Marks allowed extra time for the burgeoning crowd in the lobby overflow area to pull up the Zoom meeting link on their phones….

Missoula County Public Schools attorney Elizabeth Kaleva told the parent of an Alberton School student in an email that the school district “does not need your consent” to coerce students into wearing masks or possible testing requirements. Alberton Superintendent and “Google Certified Teacher” Jeff Crews was included in the email. The school district attorney’s reasoning…

Defiantly, Missoula schools said that parents who choose not to mask their children opt into “virtual learning.”

Stand Up Montana and 11 parents are the plaintiffs listed in a lawsuit filed yesterday against Missoula County Public Schools and Missoula County. Other defendants in the suit include Elementary District 1, High School District 1, Target Range School District, and Hellgate Elementary School District. In an interview with KGVO, the attorney representing the parents,…