Guilderland school children’s health and safety were among the key issues discussed at the Guilderland Board of Education meeting Tuesday, June 24.
During the meeting, food service director for the district Linda Mossop was questioned extensively about plans to bring healthy snacks and drinks into the schools.
Board member Gloria Towle-Hilt voiced her concern about the high sugar content in sports drinks such as Gatorade, and in many varieties of vitamin water. She asked why it was necessary to have these options available to the students.
If their choices are water, milk or juice, and they’re thirsty, they’re going to drink water, milk or juice, said Towle-Hilt.
Mossop said the reason the schools are still selling Gatorade is because the athletic departments still carry it.
`We will be pulling some of them next school year,` said Mossop.
Colleen O’Connell, who also sits on the board, called for regulation of what the Parent Teacher Association sells to raise funds. She said they have sold a number of unhealthy foods, including cookie dough, as a means of fundraising.
`There are other ways to raise money,` O’Connell added.
Other members were concerned with the high price of fuel and how it will affect the price of food. Mossop said fuel is an issue, but the rising price of eggs — up 60 percent from last year — grain and milk are bigger worries. She also said she prefers local food and often purchases goods from Indian Ladder farms in Altamont.
The board evaluated the need to raise the price of lunch to compensate for the rising prices.
A resolution was passed to set the price of the contracts for next year’s vendors, but the option to change the menu to healthier foods is still available.
High-sugar drinks were not the only health issue discussed at the meeting, as a resolution was passed to take `emergency action` to mitigate radon emissions in Guilderland High School.
Radon is a colorless and odorless natural occurring radioactive gas that can pose a cancer risk with repeated exposure to high concentrations of it.
Neil T. Sanders, assistant superintendent for business, said the situation is not critical, but something still needs to be done.
`The radon is not yet a health hazard, but any time radon is discovered, you should mitigate against the chance of any exposure,` he said.
The Environmental Protection Agency and New York state officials have declared an `action level` amount of radon in the school, but Sanders said there is nowhere near enough to discuss evacuation.
The removal will not exceed $50,000 and will come out of the General Fund according to information provided at the meeting.
General information about the situation has been discussed at several meetings and letters have been sent to parents. Additional information about the situation has been posted online as well, Sanders said.
The Tuesday meeting was held at 7:30 p.m., but the members went into executive session both before the meeting and after. Executive session before a meeting is irregular, but the members said they had good reason.
`We needed information and the [person involved] was unavailable after the meeting. Not that exciting,` said President Richard L. Weisz.
O’Connell said they had the person there to `negotiate,` and it was more convenient for them to meet beforehand because they did not know when the public session of the meeting would end.
The executive session item before the meeting involved negotiations with the Guilderland School Administrators’ Association, according to information provided at the meeting.
Items to be discussed at the executive session after the meeting included a `personnel issue,` and a `negotiations update` regarding the Guilderland Teachers Association and Technology and Communications Personnel, according to information provided at the meeting.“