Saco School Board requires pooled COVID testing for student athletes

The Saco School Board voted 6-0 to require student athletes to participate in pooled COVID-19 testing, a move the board said is intended to keep athletes participating while managing exposure risk.

"I move that we approve the request to require pool testing for our student athletes," Chair LaFortune said before the board took the roll-call vote. Superintendent Ray had asked the board to adopt winter-sports guidance that would require athletes either to be vaccinated or to enroll in pooled testing.

Ray told the board that pooled testing and masking have allowed the district to keep students in school more often and that the district faces logistical challenges when visiting facilities impose different requirements. "We recommend that people mask and we recommend that there's pool testing," he said, arguing pooled testing would reduce the number of students unexpectedly missing games because of last-minute testing requirements at host venues.

Board members clarified that Saco cannot police visiting teams but that requiring pooled testing for Saco athletes helps provide consistent management for the district's own students. The board heard that families will be given until Dec. 1 to sign up for pooled testing and that pools would begin the week of Dec. 13.

The clerk recorded a roll-call vote: Preble, Richard, LaFortune, Massey, Truman and Johnston voted yes; the motion passed 6-0.

Administration noted practical hurdles, including varying facility rules (some venues require PCR rather than rapid antigen tests) and limited capacity in state contracts for pooled testing; the board approved the local requirement to create consistent expectations for Saco teams.

The board did not adopt a blanket vaccination mandate for athletics; the action requires participation in pooled testing for unvaccinated athletes as the locally administered compliance mechanism. The district will notify families with details about enrollment and program operations.