BERLIN, Ala. – The Berlin Town Council has been trying to figure out what to do with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funds it had left over after making its own needed COVID-related purchases. On Monday evening, the body voted unanimously to spend $18,000 of it on three local schools. Berlin’s location means that its elementary-age children can go to Welti, Fairview or Holly Pond, so Mayor Patrick Bates felt it only fair that all three schools share in any funds the Town made available. The vote equally allotted $6,000 per school.
The schools will use the funds to purchase dividers that will allow students to be seated in a more normal arrangement, along with masks and sanitizing supplies.
Fairview Elementary Assistant Principal Caleb Elrod attended the meeting to speak on behalf of his school, explaining that $6,000 will allow the staff to outfit from 15 to 18 classrooms.
After the vote, Elrod told The Tribune, “I’d like to say ‘Thank you’ to the council, and I appreciate them reaching out to us. I hope it’ll get our kids back to some kind of normalcy or whatever it can be. I know our teachers are excited that they can be able to do their small groups and things with these Plexiglas that they’ve not been able to do, and so they just look forward to getting back to a routine, and getting back to teaching the kids the best they can.”
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