Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Adam Township Schools received a fine from MiOSHA for failing to meet the state’s mandated guidelines for being open during the COVID-19 pandemic. The school district is working to correct all of the issues raised by the fine.

ADAMS TOWNSHIP — Adams Township Schools was issued a $10,000 fine earlier this month by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA). The fine, states the March School Board meeting minutes, is the result of “being reported to MiOSHA due to not having adequate training or signage.” The mnutes state that Superintendent Tim Keteri is working on getting the fine abated by fixing issues.

Under MIOSHA’s emergency rules, says the MIOSHA website, businesses that resume in-person work must, among other things, have a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and provide thorough training to their employees that covers, at a minimum, workplace infection-control practices, the proper use of personal protection equipment (PPE), steps workers must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, and how to report unsafe working conditions.

The February minutes reveal that the violations were already being addressed last month.

“MIOSHA came in about some complaints,” the minutes state. “There were a few things the district wasn’t up to date with (in) dealing with (COVID) and had to change, such as signing in and out for faculty and visitors. The district will receive a fine. Everything has been corrected.”

COVID-19-related issues have been dogging the district in one way or another since school resumed in September, most having to do with push-back from the community over masking policies.

Jeffers High School was forced to shut down that month, after a teacher tested positive for COVID-19. On Sept.17, Keteri released a statement saying that as a result of the district’s masking policy, they were forced to close schools and wait for the health department to clear students and staff.

“The district cannot continue through this year with closures for every positive test,” he said. “Therefore, the district will implement a 7-12 masking policy at all times within the building, with exceptions, during gym and lunch periods.”

The announcement drew criticism from students, parents and even teachers.

During the public comment section of the October School Board meeting, Lisa Pyykkonen, second grade South Range Elementary teacher, thanked the board and administration for the work they are doing during the pandemic. In the 29 years she’s been teaching, she feels as the last seven months were the hardest because of all the chaos for the students. She said she felt that students need to be at school to get the routine, learning, and love they get, and they need to be there without masks.

She does not expect kids to protect her from illness, she said, and that decisions are being made to protect adults instead of children. She told the board that in her classroom, she has seen kids exchanging masks, losing them in bathrooms, being sucked on, and played with. She is asked the board to consider options for students.

Kimberly Hayrynen, a parent of a South Range Elementary School student, then asked the board who was the entity that decided a kindergartener should wear a mask all day.

Her son listens to adults, she said, and would wear a mask, even if he felt he could not get a good breath until he passed out.

Keteri answered that after the governor’s order, the MDHHS passed orders. They are the ones are enforcing it, he said, and he did not know how they could, or if they could, shut down the schools.

Jeffers senior Morgan Larson addressed the board, also speaking against the mask policy, citing the Ninth Amendment as her right not to put anything on her body. She went on to say that the stress and uncertainty that adults are going through is the same for the students, but students are not being allowed to have a voice or role in the decision process.

“Instead of being asked how they are,” she said, “they are being told to do as they’re told, and sometimes worse things, from teachers.”

Teachers, as adults, have a choice to be at school; students do not, she went on to say, asking to let the students help in the decision process.

Keteri said the teachers are here to teach kids and masking is a side issue that will be here for the foreseeable future.

“They are working with kids on having mask breaks and wearing them diligently in common areas.” the board meeting minutes quote him as saying, and also noted that no student has been disrespectful when having a conversation about the issue.

“The district has gotten calls from the health department about not being aggressive enough,” he said. “The staff is doing the best they can while focusing on teaching.”

The masking policy is in effect, because of the MDHHS order, Keteri is recorded in the minutes as saying, and is in courts now.

“Every action has a reaction. and the state is focusing on the reactions that are happening, he said. “Over 100 students in the district have moved to online learning and at least 40 have left the district completely to homeschool.

The minutes state that Keteri wants to get every kid back to being taught by the best staff around.

“Masking is a safety control issue and the district needs to find a solution for both sides, which hasn’t been found yet, but they will continue to push and strive as they move forward.”

The fine comes at a bad time for the school district, as it is already closely watching its budget. At the March School Board meeting, Keteri said that rather than hiring a new counselor, Jeffers will use current staff to “fill the holes.”

If situations remain the same for the district next fall, he said, the district will not be able to continue with the same budget.