THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020 Page 3 Superintendent shares bright outlook for remainder of school year By Christopher Roberson uperintendent of Schools Priya Tahiliani and her administration are riding a wave of “emotional momentum” as they prepare for the second half of the school year. S “When we return from the winter holiday, we will focus our ample energies into hybrid learning,” said Tahiliani. “From developing staffing solutions to stocking our schools with PPE [personal protective equip2020 | FROM PAGE 2 maintained that a proff er agreement is only used in a criminal proceeding. However, Pappalardo quickly countered. “That’s absolutely untrue – absolutely untrue,” he said. “There’s nothing sinister about a proff er agreement.” Capone also did not appreciate the demeanor that Pappalardo had taken with the council. “I’m a little frustrated that we’re being accosted, as if we’re doing something wrong,” he said. Yet, Pappalardo said that was not his intention. “This is not a personal attack,” he said. “I’m making statements that are very clear.” In addition, Pappalardo dispelled the notion that DeMaria was involved in the $3 billion civil lawsuit against Wynn Resorts that was filed in federal court by Sterling Suff olk Racecourse. “That’s absolutely, completely untrue,” he said. “We are dealing with matters relating to Mayor DeMaria’s political future.” Pappalardo said DeMaria was never mentioned in the Complaint and that the validity of that proceeding was even called into question by a federal judge. He said that in November 2019 the case was “dismissed with prejudice,” meaning that it can ment] and cleaning supplies, you can be sure that we are not starting from a standing position. I know I speak for the entire district when I say we are eager to complete the process.” Although the preference is to have all students back in school for half of the week, Tahiliani said she understands that may not be possible right away. “We have to remain committed to safety, for ourselves and for each other,” she said. “If Everett’s positivity rates continue to be slow never be tried again. “I’ve been an attorney for 45 years. I’m a senior partner at a very large international law fi rm, I’m not here in connection with a criminal case,” said Pappalardo. He also addressed the $200,000 that DeMaria has spent in legal fees over the past four years. “If it were a criminal case, it would be incredibly more expensive,” he said. March Then all hell broke loose. At 125 nanometers, the coronavirus that would become known as COVID-19 was 1,000 times smaller than a grain of sand. Yet, it immediately forced a series of unprecedented changes. That was when this stopped even resembling a normal year. Although the virus struck during fl u season, COVID-19 was a completely diff erent animal. The major diff erence between the fl u and this virus was that COVID-19 attacked the respiratory system, which made it 10 times deadlier than the fl u. It was also contagious to the point where a person could have COVID-19 and spread it without even knowing they had it. In order to defend his beloved city, Mayor Carlo DeMaria ordered all of Everett to be shut down. “Health professionals in dropping, we will focus on bringing back certain grade levels across the district with the intention of expanding the model as circumstances permit.” Tahiliani also said that measures such as wearing masks and social distancing must continue until the COVID-19 vaccines become widely available. “We cannot let anticipation about a vaccine and the weariness of the past nine months combine to shake our resolve,” she said. have advised that our best and most valuable weapon to combat this pandemic is social distancing, community mitigation and public health intervention,” said DeMaria. “Now is the time to act.” He also said city employees would not be permitted to travel during that time without prior authorization. “Employees found to be in violation of this policy will be subject to discipline,” he said. “The purpose of the shutdown is social distanc2020 | SEE PAGE 4 Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma
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