There is a change coming to the way meetings are conducted at school board meetings into districts in Western New York. Orchard Park and Clarence schools will conduct their meetings remotely this month.

At previous meetings, in both districts, things were disrupted by a few people in attendance. One of the meetings in Clarence ended abruptly as a result of things getting out of control.

If you are a person who would like to make a comment in the Orchard Park District, you will have until 3 o’clock on Tuesday the 12th to make a comment via email. For the Clarence meeting coming up on the 18th you will need to make a comment before noon this Friday.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the mask issue has become a very polarizing and contentious topic around the globe and it has made its way into the school board meetings apparently. As a matter of fact, it has gotten almost impossible to discuss the COVID virus, masks, vaccines and pretty much anything else medical related these days. It’s a lot like politics now and I try to steer away from it when speaking with friends and family as often as possible.

My question to anyone on either side has always been where do you get your information from? Who is right and who is wrong? I really try to observe things in a very objective manner. However our sons do attend kindergarten and preschool and school board issues are now on our radar at home. Thankfully, we are in the Hamburg district where our superintendent has been very open about any policies and anything that is handed down to the Hamburg district from the state of New York.

I absolutely believe people have the right to be heard especially if they have children in the district or are paying taxes to the district. But when things get out of control there is no progress and nothing can get done so I understand why there may be a need for remote sessions to take place. It may be something that we see happening in other districts at some point in the near future.

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