HELENA, Mont. – In an interview last week, Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen supported the emphasis that the Trump Administration has placed on schools safely reopening this fall, while stressing that it must be done through local control by Montana communities.

An excerpt of the Politico article, which highlights the Superintendent’s solutions-based, localized approach for our schools throughout this pandemic, is below:

“Elsie Arntzen, the Republican superintendent of public instruction in Montana, said in an interview on Friday that she supported the Trump administration’s approach. She said that she didn’t view Trump’s comments about school funding as a threat to take away money. “For a president to say that schools are connected to the economy, I embrace that,” she said.

“I believe that we need to have our state open and it needs to be done very safely.” Arntzen said she believes in local control of schools and would support a local superintendent’s decision to either close or reopen classrooms. But she praised the Trump administration’s focus on reopening physical school buildings as a way to return to normalcy.

“Having schools come back to a more traditional model, a sense of normalcy, is going to reduce the panic and allow Montanans to function and allow Montana families to be able to supply an income for our children and for our children’s future,” she said. “I’m all in.”

Superintendent Arntzen has led state efforts to safely resume learning in Montana, issuing comprehensive reopening schools guidance last week. She recognizes that the final decision to either close or reopen classrooms is best made at the local level.

For more information on Superintendent Arntzen’s supportive guidance to schools for the fall, please click HERE.