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Board hears updated district safety plan; members ask to clarify pandemic-declaration language
Summary
District safety team chair Mr. Oliver presented an updated Massena Central School District safety plan with only minor changes; trustees discussed adding a clause that pandemic protocols be triggered "under the direction of an authority with jurisdiction," opened a mandatory 30-day public comment period, and expect a board approval vote at the August meeting prior to the September 1 NYSED submission deadline.
"Good evening, Board of Education," Mr. Oliver said as he introduced an updated district safety plan, noting it is one of two mandatory submissions to the New York State Education Department and that, apart from minor semantic changes, it remains largely the same as last year’s plan.
Mr. Oliver explained that building-level emergency response plans for the district’s five buildings are submitted separately to the State Education Department and are not published publicly because they contain identifying phone numbers and other details that must be redacted for public release; those plans are accessible to law enforcement and other first responders and to the State Education Department.
Board members asked clarifying questions about pandemic protocols and whether the plan should explicitly identify when pandemic responses may be initiated. Superintendent Burke and another trustee recommended adding language that pandemic response actions be undertaken "under the direction of an authority with jurisdiction" (for example, a state or federal department of health) so that unilateral activation by local parties would be restricted. Mr. Oliver said he would submit that concern as part of the public comment process if the board wished.
The chair opened a mandatory 30-day public comment period on the plan; administration indicated the board expects to review and vote on the plan at the August meeting so the district can submit the safety plan to NYSED by the statutory September 1 deadline.
No changes to the emergency-response protocols were adopted on the spot; the discussion centered on clarifying language and ensuring statutory timelines and redaction protocols for building-level documents.
