The first day of school is less than a month away

The first day of school is less than a month away, and North Country Union High School’s principal says students might have to start the year with online learning if PCB levels remain too high. This comes as the Vermont Legislature decides whether to pause the state’s costly testing program. A $5 million mitigation effort is underway to reduce high levels of harmful PCBs in the air. Principal Chris Young says this is North Country’s fourth effort to decrease the chemical levels. “The levels of PCBs in the air have not gone down as a result of those, so we’re really afraid that that’s going to be the case again,” said Young. Guidance on testing comes from the Vermont Department of Health, the Department of Conservation and the Agency of Education, which determines whether or not students will be in their seats for the first day. Young says state agencies are now starting to recognize the importance of in-person learning. North Country’s is not alone, there are dozens of Vermont schools with action-level PCB issues, including seven with classroom spaces affected. With dwindling funds available for these projects, the Legislature is divided on whether the testing program should even continue. Right now, North Country Union High School is waiting to hear back about test results from the first part of their mitigation efforts. Those will give them an idea about how this summer’s costly process worked.