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BELLEFONTE -- Some teachers and staff in the Bellefonte Area School District have received the COVID vaccine.
That was the word from interim superintendent Tammie Burnaford at Tuesday night's school board meeting.
"We were able to host a vaccine clinic," she said.
Burnaford explained that Bill Faust of Boalsburg Apothecary was able to secure 200 doses.
"They've been trying to push out (the) vaccine to smaller apothecaries and smaller pharmacies so that they can again get out into the rural areas," Burnaford said.
The clinic was available for employees in the district who fell into the 1A category.
"Obviously, we couldn't fill 200 doses, so we worked with Bald Eagle (Area), Penns Valley and CPI, who also sent some of their folks over … it went very smoothly and very well," Burnaford said.
Burnaford said that the supply of 200 vaccines was exhausted. Bus drivers in the district were eligible to receive the vaccine, she said.
"A lot of our bus drivers are elderly so were able to work with them as well. It wasn't just building staff," Burnaford said. "It went great."
According to Burnaford, she would like to see the district's buildings be used as vaccination sites when the time comes.
"I'm really hopeful that as we move down this line, we could provide a site for them to even administer to the community when we get to that point," Burnaford said.
She said that clinic ran smoothly thanks to school nurses and staff who volunteered to help.
Bellefonte school board president Jon Guizar thanked Burnaford for her efforts coordinating the clinic with Boalsburg Apothecary.
"Sounds like it could turn out to be a long-term relationship," Guizar said.
"I hope so," Burnaford said.
In other business Tuesday night, the board got its first look at the 2021-22 school calendar. Among the highlights: The first day of school is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 31. The last day of school is scheduled for Thursday, June 9, 2022. Christmas break will take place from Thursday, Dec. 23 through Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.
Burnaford said that the first day of school is later this year.
"We are presuming that Grange Fair will happen and if Grange Fair happens, we would start the Tuesday after Grange Fair," Burnaford said, "(We would) do a three-day week that week, four-day the next week and five days the next week. We found this year that worked really, really well, particularly for our kindergarteners. That transition is a little different anyway."
Of course, the school calendar could change, Burnaford said.
"It's just way too early to tell what everything is going to look like in August," Burnaford said.
The Bellefonte school board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The meeting is closed to the public but is available via Zoom.