Area schools closed

by Dan McClelland

Tupper Lake Central School and Long Lake Central School and the eight other schools in the Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES District are closed until at least April 20 due to the Corona virus, according to a press release BOCES officials put out over the weekend. The Newcomb school district was also closed.

“The Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES and its 10-component school districts have made a unanimous decision to close school immediately until at least April 20 due to the Corona virus.

“The districts, in collaboration with their respective public health offices, will reevaluate the return of staff and students prior to the 20th to determine whether or not it is safe to do so.

“The decision to close schools was made as a pre-emptive measure to assist in limiting the spread of the virus. Although there are no reports of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in any of our school communities as of March 15, the state Department of Public Health recommends that the best action school districts can take to prevent the spread of this illness is to limit social interaction.

“The school leaders in our region take their responsibility to educate and protect our students very seriously and did not make this decision lightly,” BOCES District Superintendent Dale Breault said.

“I am incredibly grateful for the collaboration that has occurred between the BOCES district, our 10 component districts, three counties and their respective public health offices to reach consensus on the best course of action during this unprecedented event.”

The districts, in addition to Tupper Lake and Long Lake, include Malone, Raquette Lake, Salmon River, Saranac Lake, St. Regis Falls, Brushton-Moira, Chateaugay and Lake Placid.