PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Public Schools are monitoring COVID-19 and although the district has set travel restrictions, at the moment there are no plans to close the schools.

 

Superintendent Jason McCandless gave the School Committee an update Wednesday on how the novel coronavirus is being addressed within the schools and said he did not think closing the schools would benefit the city. 

 

"For us to believe that we need to close the schools, we are going to need quite a bit of convincing," he said. "We are rational, we are thoughtful, and we read everything that people send us but we are not convinced at this point that long term school closure ... would be a great service to our community."

 

McCandless said the office has been receiving about 60 to 75 emails a day from parents and other concerned parties inquiring about school closure but thinks closing would do more harm than good.

 

With schools closed, employees will not get a steady paycheck. He added that more than 50 percent of the student body is considered economically disadvantaged and child care arrangements may not be an option. 

 

"They may not have child-care arrangements or a B-plan," he said. "If schools close, a B-plan might be someone who is in their '70s or '80s like a grandparent whose health is going to be compromised."

 

McCandless said hundreds of children would also go hungry without breakfast or lunch served to them.

 

However, precautions are being made especially when it comes to travel and that for at least the next 30 days travel within the city, state, and country has been limited or completely restricted for students and employees.

 

(Mayor Linda Tyer on Thursday morning outlined travel restrictions for municipal employees in an emergency declaration. McCandless was also named to the city's preparedness planning team.)

 

As for events, anything bringing together multi-generational crowds or large crowds has been canceled.

 

Programs and events that are essentially an extension of the school day are still a go. This includes after-school programs and school athletics for the time being.

 

International trips have been canceled and Pittsfield High students who planned to travel to the UK and France have received a travel voucher. 

 

McCandless said this is not the case for a Taconic trip to Scotland and although the June trip will likely be canceled, the hope is that the state may somehow make a statement that will trigger a clause forcing the travel company to reimburse families.

 

He said this is a problem statewide and schools are working together to put pressure on travel companies that refuse to refund money to families that have spent years saving. 

 

A list of canceled events and programs can be found on the district’s website that has current information on COVID-19 and even a printable cartoon that can be used to explain the virus to younger students. Anything green on the school calendar is a go and anything red has been canceled.