GLADSTONE — Petitions to remove three of the Gladstone Area Public Schools school board members for voting to implement a COVID-19 testing program are continuing to circulate within the school district.

The petitions, which are essentially identical in language, target Board President Steve Tackman, Board Vice President Linda Howlett, and Board Secretary Henry Knoch for “their aye vote to pass the pilot program at the Gladstone Area School Board meeting on September 20th, 2021.” A fourth board member, Board Trustee Andrew Sturdy, also voted in favor of implementing the program at the meeting, however, no petition language was filed with the county election commission for his removal.

The six-week pilot program, which was announced in a letter to parents and families by Gladstone Area Schools Superintendent Jay Kulbertis on Sept. 21, allowed participating students who have been in close contact with a postive COVID-19 case within the school system to forego quarantining. Instead, the students were required to wear masks while at or on school property and be tested for COVID-19 on days one, four, and seven of the quarantine period. The tests were administered at the individual schools within the district and parents were allowed to accompany their child during the testing process.

Students who tested positive or were close contacts of a postive case in their own home were still required to quarantine, per Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties guidelines. Postive tests were reported to the health department.

The pilot program was not compulsory. Parents and guardians needed to sign a waiver to participate in the program. According to Kulbertis, more than 200 students were able to test negative and wear a mask in order to continue attending school rather than be quarantined through the program.

“We will continue to communicate, cooperate, and collaborate with our local health department on all matters related to staff and student safety. Of course, we may need to adjust our approach as circumstances or directives dictate. Once again, we appreciate the input that we have received from interested parents and community members and we will continue to work diligently in the best interest of all out students and staff,” Kulbertis wrote in his Sept. 21 letter.

While the program was originally intended to end after six weeks, the board voted at its Nov. 15 meeting to extend the program until the end of the first semester, which ends Jan. 14, 2022. A slight change to the program to start testing on the day of “initial notification” was approved.

Whether or not to extend the program again will be discussed at the Jan. 17, 2022 board meeting.

A website claiming to be run by “Concerned Gladstone Parents,” which has been shared numerous times on social media, lists contact information for a half-dozen people circulating the petition. It also includes an open letter expanding on the petition language.

“This policy is admittedly not supported by data, nor does it meet state or federal guidelines, and is a policy that many families oppose. In fact, Gladstone is the only school district in Delta County to implement such a program,” reads a portion of the open letter.