Massena Central working on staff vaccine clinic, safety plan in case of future pandemics

By Andy Gardner

MASSENA — The Massena Central School District is looking to set up a vaccination clinic for employees in the near future. Meanwhile, the Board of Education is coming up with a plan in case of future pandemics that the state is requiring of each district.

Superintendent Pat Brady said they’re still trying to find a suitable location and holding the clinics will depend on the vaccine supply.

“We’re looking at possibly the high school gym. We’re preparing for that when it comes,” he said during the Thursday, Jan. 14 Board of Education meeting. “It will depend directly on the number of vaccines that come into the state and into our region. That can change on a daily basis.”

He said they’re working with St. Lawrence Health System, which is trying to coordinate vaccination clinics at the larger school district, and the St. Lawrence County Department of Public Health.

“We’re hopeful we can get a clinic set up very soon for our staff,” Brady said.

He said some staffers are going elsewhere to get vaccinated, but SLHS is recommending they wait.

“St. Lawrence Health System has asked, and I put out info recommending they wait so they can get them done here all at once. We will see. More to come on that,” the superintendent said.

The pandemic safety plan will include mostly things the district came up with when writing up their re-opening plan last spring.

“We did a lot of work. Our teachers, our staff, our admin in creating a reopening plan. So we already have some of that work done,” said Alan Oliver from the district Safety Committee. “It’s no big shift from what we’re doing already.”

“Because it needs to be part of the district safety plan, there are regulations that require the board to have a 30-day period where the public can review it, a public hearing on it, and then the board would adopt it,” Brady said. “It is due to be adopted by April 1.”

Some of the things in the plan would be defining essential workers so they know in case of state-ordered workforce reductions who can work from home, who has to come to the building and who can do a mix of both. It also calls for staggered work shifts to avoid overcrowding, and outlines screening procedures, PPE procurement and storage protocols and cleaning and disinfecting guidelines.