North Country board awaits test results, plans in-person school

 

NEWPORT — Two wings of North Country Union High School have had extensive work done over the summer to mitigate the presence of PCBs in the air.  School administrators won’t know how successful is until technicians take air samples, a commercial laboratory analyses them, and the state Department of Health confirms the results.

Those results may show the C wing, which houses the North Country Career Center, and the B wing, in which most classrooms are located, are fine for use,.  They may also say rooms should be used only for limited periods of time or not at all.

North Country Superintendent Elaine Collins and Principal Chris Young say they think it is essential that school be opened to in-person learning.  Ms. Collins notes that although PCBs are known to cause health problems, the effects from the kind of exposure students might get have not been quantified.  The effects of having students out of the classroom, she has said, are clear to see.

At their meeting Wednesday night, members of the high school board considered their options and decided the school should be open for in-school classes as soon as possible.  What that means in practice may be better understood when the board meets again on August 20.

In the meantime, Mr. Young and Ms. Collins said they well consider all options, including holding classes outside regular classrooms, to make sure there won’t be a return to online schooling.

More details in the August 14 Chronicle.