CLIFTON PARK – A week into the states lifting of the facemask mandate in public schools, there’s been a noticeable co-mingling of students who continue to wear them on their own accord with those who are enjoying their newfound maskless freedom.
“We have kids who have masks on, walking down the hallway talking to kids who don’t have masks on,” Shenendehowa Central School District Superintendent Oliver Robinson told the Board of Education Tuesday, in wake of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s allowance for facemasks to be optional in public schools as of March 2, two years into the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s often said that the kids are very resilient and they make the adjustments accordingly, and I think they certainly have done that,” Robinson added.
Thus far, there has been no report of an uptick in COVID cases or “implications” as a result of the unmasking of students in the public schools here, Robinson said.
“Which is a good thing because we know that the low infection rate was a major criteria for moving towards that direction in the first place,” thesuperintendent said, adding the district will continue to monitor situations.
The debate about unmasking students grew polarizing and “heated” in this district and others, including during an August 2021 Board of Education meeting in which hostilities were exchanged.
Robinson wrote a letter to parents shortly after to clarify confusion over outdoor mask breaks given to elementary school students.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Robinson said he sent board members “vignettes from some comments” about the mask-optional environment. He said that the feedback continues to be positive.
During the meeting, a student representative told board members he forgot how amazing it was to be taught without (masks).”
Kellan Gunner (11th grader) said that class discussions and daily interactions are better without the need for masks.
“It just feels like a bigger sense of normal,” he said.
A COVID-related matter: The district continued to invest to improve the air quality in school buildings and unanimously awarded a $16,185 one-year contract to a local company to supply district with air filters with minimal efficiency reporting values.
John W. Danforth Co., an electrical contractor in Clifton Park received the contract.
A district spokeswoman stated that the district spent approximately $83,000 more on these specific types of air filters, and air handlers for univents, in each room, from March 2020 to August 20, 2021. They’re changed three times a year.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, the district spent approximately 11,000 annually on univents and air handlers.
Other business: The board unanimously approved a settlement of a due process complaint that was filed in November by the parents and students with disabilities.
According to the Disabilities Education Act (the complaint), the student claimed that he missed therapy sessions during 2020-21 school year.
Under the settlement, the parents’ attorney fees of $6,500 will be paid by the district, and the student’s individualized education program was changed to include two weekly physical therapy sessions.
The district also agreed to provide counseling sessions, occupational therapy, and physical therapy for students who missed last year.
While the student nor the student’s parents were identified in settlement papers, they were presented by attorney Kenneth S. Ritzenberg of Young/Sommer LLC. Susan T. Johns of Ferrara Fiorenza was the representative of the Board of Education.
Brian Lee, reporter [email protected]gazette.net or 518-419-99766
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Categories: Halfmoon and Clifton Park, Saratoga County
