CHESHIRE, Mass. — Hoosac Valley Regional is monitoring COVID-19 but currently plans to continue school business as usual.

 

The Western Mass champion girls' basketball team is set to finish the state tournament in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association finals this weekend, unless the MIAA cancels. The team won in the state semi-finals on Tuesday.

 

And musical performances for Friday and Saturday are still on — for now.

 

Superintendent Aaron Dean told the School Committee on Monday that he plans to use common sense in regards to the novel coronavirus and does not want to overreact as long as the district is in a low-risk state.

 

"I feel like we are in a good place with this and if time goes on and we see an increased risk then we act accordingly and take those extra measures," he said. "I just don't want to compromise education experiences unless the risk dictates that to us."

 

He did provide the School Committee with a list of upcoming field trips and other school events but said, "we are going to hold off on international travel but we are going to do local events."

 

On Wednesday, the school district posted an update that clarified the trip to Spain was off along with any out-of-state travel following Gov. Charlie Baker's emergency declation the day before.

 

"We are in a period of uncertainty in which conditions and the availability of information are evolving rapidly. Our district will adhere to the following framework when making decisions about events, field trips, and changes to our operations," the update reads, and warns "we may cancel an event the day before or an hour before" as the situation changes. 

 

Dean told the School Committee on Monday that he will not entertain any new field trips and that he has asked that any families who have traveled internationally to contact his office. 

 

He said staff are still taking great care in cleaning the buildings and looking into new cleaning products.

 

"Right now we are at low risk so we should continue business as usual. That said business as usual is also flu season business as usual," he said Monday. "So we are sanitizing everything and taking that extra step to keep folks safe."

 

He also had been in touch with the North Adams Public Schools about using its disinfectant fogging machine.

 

"It will give a little boost to our sanitation process," he said.

 

Committee member Michael Mucci said he thought Dean was taking the right stance on the virus.

 

"It is something that is changing almost hourly and I think we need to keep an open line of communication," he said. "I think the experts are monitoring it and it is good not to overreact until there is a time to do so."

 

In other business on Monday, the committee appointed new Cheshire representative Mike Heneault to replace Peter Tatro.

 

"I have known Mike for a while and I am excited to hear that he was interested in the position," Mucci said. "He will be a great addition to the committee."

 

Henault, a former district teacher and athletic director, said he has two kids in the district. 

 

"They have a long way to go in the district and I want to help make sure the education that they are receiving meets my standards which are pretty high," he said.

 

Heneault must be sworn before he can sit with the board.

 

Dean also addressed some maintenance concerns and noted a leak in the gym roof has been repaired.

 

"We had a tiny roof leak that just happened to be in the middle of the floor," he said. "The good news is it was covered under warranty and they found the problem and fixed it."

 

He said there is another small leak in the middle school gym roof that will be covered under the warranty and they are addressing other small building issues.