Author: monique.jacobs

March 2, 2022

Dear Fort Plain Central School Community,

As you are aware, the statewide universal mask mandate for schools was lifted as of today, March 2, 2022. This means that the majority of students, staff and school visitors are no longer required to wear a mask in our school buildings or school buses. Mask wearing, however, continues to be optional for everyone.

As you also know, health and safety guidance from the state and local health departments related to COVID-19 continues to evolve. While the latest state guidance removes the mask requirement, the following health and safety protocols remain in place:

• Regardless of vaccination status, if a student tests positive for COVID-19 they must isolate for a full five days. Students may return to school after day five if they are asymptomatic or if symptoms are resolving. For days 6-10 following a positive test, students are required to wear a mask in school, including on the school bus.
• If a student has been exposed to COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, it is highly recommended they wear a mask for a full 10 days following that exposure.
• State and local health officials continue to recommend testing for COVID-19 following a possible exposure. COVID-19 tests are available at school to anyone who wants one. If you need a test, please contact Keri Constable, LPN, at 518-993-4000.
• Anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 should stay home from school, regardless of vaccination status or recent infection, until tested and/or isolate for five days. If your student has symptoms and you aren’t sure what to do, or if you need a COVID-19 test kit, contact Keri Constable, LPN, at 518-993-4000.

We remain committed to keeping our students in school, while providing a safe learning environment for all. We will continue to follow a tiered mitigation strategy to prevent the spread of illness in our schools and on our buses. This includes enhanced cleaning and disinfection procedures and improved ventilation, in addition to providing free at-home COVID-19 testing kits to our families and staff.

We will also continue our due diligence with regard to notifying impacted staff and families if we learn about a positive case. In some situations, this will involve a general notification alerting staff and families that there was a positive case in a particular class or school. In other cases, the identification of close contacts may be warranted. In these cases, we will provide the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19 testing, quarantine and isolation.

We will continue to work with our local health department as we move forward to follow the metrics as they relate to cases, infection rates and hospitalizations, and we will keep you updated as information is shared.

I thank you again for your patience, resolve and commitment to ensuring that we followed the plan and in turn, made sure people were safe.

Sincerely,
Jeffery Ziegler
Interim Superintendent

February 27, 2022

Dear Fort Plain Central School Community,

At 2 p.m. today, Governor Hochul held a press conference regarding the state mask mandate. She said that as of March 2, the mandate will be lifted. Masks will be optional starting Wednesday.

As we gather additional information from the state, we will send out a letter to everyone making sure we have all of the details. We will continue to work with the local health department as we move forward to follow the metrics as they relate to cases, infection rates and hospitalizations.

As we all know, this has been a long journey, and I would like to personally thank everyone for their patience, resolve and commitment to ensuring that we followed the plan and in turn, made sure people were safe.

Sincerely,
Jeffery Ziegler
Interim Superintendent

The following letter has been sent to the Governor and Health Commissioner on behalf of school superintendents in the HFM BOCES region

February 26, 2022

Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, New York 12224

Commissioner Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH
New York State Department of Health
Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12203

Dear Governor Hochul and Commissioner Bassett,

As you are aware, on Friday, February 25, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines for masking, and in particular, updated guidelines for masking in schools.

As you may recall, on January 28, the school superintendents of the Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery area endorsed a letter written by our colleagues in the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex region entitled “Pathway to Normalcy.” That letter asked for information and metrics to allow our students and staff to have a roadmap to move away from the current masking requirements.

We write you today with a sense of urgency asking you to implement the following  measures, before students return from vacation on Monday, February 28:

● In compliance with the new CDC recommendations, remove the mandate for masking for school facilities and on school busses in counties identified by the CDC at low or medium levels of risk.,

● Provide guidance to school districts, parents, and staff about the factors that would trigger the reintroduction of masks, and;

● Provide guidance to school districts on changes to other mitigation layers including social distancing.

Sincerely,

The Superintendents of Schools in the HFM BOCES region:

Richard Ruberti, Greater Amsterdam
Stephen Tomlinson, Broadalbin-Perth
Dr. Nick Fitzgerald, Canajoharie
Michelle Ellis, Edinburg Common
Thomas Ciaccio, Fonda-Fultonville
Jeffery Ziegler, Fort Plain
David Halloran, Gloversville Enlarged
Dr. William Crankshaw, Greater Johnstown
Heather Philo, Lake Pleasant
Christopher Harper, Mayfield
Dr. Leslie Ford, Northville
Richard Rose, Piseco
Adam Heroth, Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville
Thomas Sincavage, Wells
Nicole Dettenrieder, Wheelerville

CC:
New York State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara
New York State Assemblyman Robert Smullen
New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey
New York State Senator James Tedisco

Laurel Headwell, Fulton County Public Health
Erica Mahoney, Hamilton County Public Health
Sara Boerenko, Montgomery County Public Health

David Ziskin, District Superintendent, HFM BOCES