CENTRAL SQUARE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF EDUCATION: Mr. Thomas J. Colabufo

Superintendent
Andrew Martin, Randy Hoyt Steven Patch
Board President Michael Lawyea Catherine Sundet
Kristy Fischmann, Timothy McCarthy Lorraine Wood
Vice President Chance Nickerson

June 16, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

At 12:30 PM today, we were notified by the Onondaga County Health Department that the NYS Department
of Health had just provided them with revised restrictions that apply to NYS school graduations. A
tremendous amount of planning by our PVM HS administrative team went into organizing the three separate
graduation ceremonies in order to comply with the NYSDOH mandates. Besides unvaccinated individuals
still being required to wear masks (as seen below) all other restrictions for outdoor ceremonies have been
removed. Our administrative team is currently having an emergency planning meeting to work out the details
which will allow us to have one large graduation ceremony on the evening of June 25. We realize that some
parents may be frustrated as the time for their scheduled ceremony will change, however, allowing all seniors
to graduate as one entire class is very special. When Principal Enright and her team complete all of the details,
she will immediately inform all parents/guardians and students of our senior class.
The revised NYSDOH restrictions are below:

Pre-K to Grade 12 End of Academic Year Celebration Events, including Graduations

· The June 7, 2021 update to the Interim Guidance for In-Person Instruction at Pre-K to Grade 12 Schools During the COVID-19
Public Health Emergency does not apply to end of academic year celebration events, such as graduations and moving-up
ceremonies, which are large, public events that occur outside the scope of in-person academic instruction, scholastic, and
extracurricular activities.

· As announced by Governor Cuomo on June 15, 2021, MOST COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted as 70 percent of New
Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccination series. As New York surpassed that
threshold, the State's health guidelines—including social gathering limits, capacity restrictions, social distancing, cleaning
and disinfection, health screening, and contact information for tracing—will become optional for most industries, including
pre-K-12 education end of year events, provided however there are two exceptions that continue to apply to end of
academic year celebrations:
*Masks are still required for unvaccinated individuals, pursuant to federal CDC guidelines.
* Large-scale indoor event venues — defined as venues that have an indoor capacity of greater than 5,000 —will still follow
the State's existing health guidance for large events. Specifically, consistent with the State's implementation of the CDC
guidelines, proof of vaccination can be used to eliminate social distancing and remove masks for fully vaccinated individuals.
Unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status individuals who are over the age of four must continue to present proof of a
recent negative diagnostic COVID-19 test result and wear masks within the venue. However, social distancing can be reduced
or eliminated between tested attendees, allowing venues to reach 100 percent capacity in all sections. (See below and linked
materials for additional guidance.)
* Please again note that, notwithstanding that 70 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose of
their COVID-19 vaccination series, the Department of Health’s Interim Guidance for In-Person Instruction at Pre-K to Grade
12 Schools During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency remains in effect.

Sincerely,

Thomas J. Colabufo
Superintendent

44 School Drive | Central Square, NY 13036 | P: 315-668-4220 | F: 315-676-4437 | www.cssd.org