BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

CANTON — Canton Central School Superintendent Ronald Burke says the district will not require staff members to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

This would only impact a small number of employees, as approximately 90% of all staff at CCS is fully or partially vaccinated, he said.

“Legal opinion is that school districts do not have the legal authority to require vaccinations,” Burke said. “We do have the authority to enforce vaccination requirements that are established by the State.”

However, the state has yet to do that.

For now, the district is following the guidelines established by the CDC, the NYSDOH and local Public Health Department.

“We are practicing universal indoor masking,” he said.

All air filters were replaced over the summer and all air handlers meet or exceed filtration recommendations. Other protective measures include sanitizing each bus daily as well as classrooms and common areas.

“The CDC, while encouraging social distancing, has made it very clear that social distancing should not impede the ability of having all students attend in-person instruction five-days per week,” Burke said.

Although remote learning is not an option this year so far, multiple positive tests within the district have caused many to quarantine.

“At one point, we had over 100 students quarantined,” Burke said.

As of Sept. 20 that number is about half.

Burke also said that as of Monday, the district has had 15 students and one staff member test positive since school began this fall.

Fully vaccinated individuals do not need to quarantine. However, much of the school population is not vaccinated against COVID-119 as the vaccine has not received full approval for children under age 12.

According to the Public Health guidelines, fully vaccinated individuals do not need to quarantine as long as they remain asymptomatic. Anyone with quarantine questions should reach out to the health department and not school officials.

Plans are in place for the district to begin testing all unvaccinated staff members, as well as voluntarily test students with parental permission.

Having nearly all of its employees vaccinated would leave around 30 or fewer staff members who aRE required to be tested weekly for the virus.

Burke said that so far about 10% of students have been signed up for voluntary COVID tests. The student population hovers around 1300 students.

Weekly COVID testing begins Wednesday, Sept. 22.

The testing program is being coordinated through St. Lawrence County Public Health in collaboration with the school districts.

“It has been a logistical process for Public Health to contract with an approved lab and for the Districts to gear up for finding staff to administer the tests,” Burke said.