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Stratford ends COVID-19 protocols

The Stratford Board of Education voted unanimously on Monday to end all COVID-19 protocols in school buildings.

Scott Winch, Stratford schools superintendent, told the school board the Tiger Reopening Protocol for the 2020-21 school year would end on Wednesday, June 30. The 2021-22 school year starts on Thursday, July 1.

The school board, however, decided to immediately end all COVID-19 protocols. Winch said things would be back to normal again, like how the school buildings were in February of 2020, before COVID-19 restrictions were put into place.

This means students and staff will no longer be required to social distance themselves inside school buildings and be quarantined from school. There will be no more visitor restrictions and hand sanitizer requirements inside school buildings. Chris Dickinson, Stratford school board president, said students and staff will not be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccination to attend the 2021-22 school year.

On Monday, school board member Tyler Skaya made the motion to end all COVID-19 protocols in the school buildings, and Kitty Guyer seconded it. School board members Dickinson, Dustin Skaya and Jeannie Tichy joined them in voting 5-0 to end the COVID-19 protocols.

The school board voted, 4-1, at its May meeting to keep all COVID-19 protocols in place until the end of the regular school year and make it optional for summer school students to follow them. Dickinson cast the only no vote at the May meeting.

In other news:

_ The school board voted to approve a revised 2021-22 school calendar. Stratford High School graduation will take place on Friday, May 27, 2022, on Memorial Day weekend because of the new block schedule.

_ School board members voted to move the August school board meeting from its normal second Monday of each month to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18. Future school board meetings will be held in the high school conference room, instead of in the band room.

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