The Upper Perkiomen School District has relaxed its contact tracing policy related to COVID-19. Last week, the board approved a revised Health and Safety policy with fewer requirements. The district will no longer trace individual cases among students, according to Assistant Superintendent Andrea Farina.

            Prior to the unanimous vote at the March 10 regular meeting, Farina presented new tracing guidance to the members. The district's pandemic coordinator told them that the district would trace incidents of three or more novel coronavirus cases and that officials would utilize current policy to monitor and respond to outbreaks of the communicable disease.

           According to Farina, the Montgomery County Office of Public Health presented new guidelines to the district on Feb. 28. A slide in her presentation identified the rationale for the shift as the emergence of vaccinations and therapeutics and a shift in the goal of preventing transmission of the virus to avoid serious medical disease and preserve hospital capacity.

            The indicators – which do not reflect the full scope of transmission – do not differentiate between mild and severe disease, and do not reflect a healthcare system strain. The new COVID-19 community level is determined by the number of occupied hospital beds or the new admission indicators, according to Farina's presentation.

            In personnel news, the board voted to appoint a new middle school teacher and psychologist for the remainder of the current school year. Omar Porrata will teach Social Studies at the middle school. Colleen Bell is the psychologist.

            The members also accepted the retirements of two paraprofessionals, Karen Hoffman and Roxann Tucker, that are effective at the end of the current school year. They also voted to approve the resignations of Brian Sirocka, a job coach, and Dave Thomas, a maintenance mechanic.

            The board approved a calendar for the 2022-23 school year. The members also finalized the graduation date for the current year. Commencement is slated for Friday, June 10, according to a note on the agenda for last week's regular meeting.

            The first day for students during the upcoming school year has been set for Aug. 29. Schools will be closed Sept. 2, 5 for Labor Day; Nov. 23-25 for Thanksgiving; Dec. 25 through Jan. 2, 2023, for Winter Break; Jan. 16, 2023, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day; April 6-10, 2023, for spring break and May 29, 2023, for Memorial Day. The last day for students is June 12, 2023.

           Superintendent Allyn Roche did not attend the public meeting.