Contradictory Information
by Chris Tergliafera
At the January 18 regular meeting of the Berlin Central School District Board, Superintendent Joseph Dhara discussed some contradictory information the District has received from the State of New York regarding contact tracing for COVID-19. The State is telling schools they no longer need to contact trace, however they also told districts they need to do their due diligence and notify parents when their child has come in close contact with someone who is infected, which would require contact tracing. The District will look to get some clarification on the matter.
In other COVID-19 news, the number of days required to quarantine after being in close contact with someone who’s tested positive has been reduced from ten to five.
Strategic Plan
Superintendent Dhara stated in his monthly report that he hopes to have a draft of Berlin Central School District’s strategic plan to the Board of Education by April or May, with the finalized plan being presented by June.
Fuel Tanks
During the Facilities Committee portion of the meeting, the age and condition of the Middle/High School’s fuel tanks was brought up. The current tanks have a life expectancy of 30 years and are currently on year 33. Board of Education President Frank Zwack believes the tanks should be replaced to minimize the risk of leakage in the future. Mr. Zwack doesn’t want to wait until a catastrophic failure before the issue is addressed. Its important to note that the current tanks have been tested and no issues were found. Since this wasn’t the intended topic of the agenda item, all sides weren’t prepared to make an argument for or against, so further discussion on the matter will be needed.
Other News
The goal for the athletic fields is to have them ready for approval by mid to late May.
The livestream cameras in the Middle/High School gym have been installed and are operational. They can be accessed by clicking the link on berlincentral.org.