Page 8 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020 2020 | FROM PAGE 6 State Representative Joseph McGonagle also expressed his support. “Too often, major crises unfairly harm our most vulnerable populations, such as children and the homeless,” said McGonagle. “This proves how we are working to protect those vulnerable people.” Remainder of school year cancelled The day that students and educators had feared arrived on April 21 when Baker announced that all public and private schools would not reopen until the fall. “Students cannot return to school safely,” he said, adding that the spread of COVID-19 was still too great. “At this point in time, there is no authoritative guidance or advisories with respect to how to operate schools safely.” Baker said that while the buildings would remain closed, remote learning would continGina S Soldano REALTOR® ABR®, AHWD, e-PRO®, GREEN, MRP®, PSA®, SFR®, SRES®, SRS® Broker/Associate Millennium Real Estate 291 Ferry Street, Everett, MA 02149 (857) 272-4270 Gina.Soldano@era.com gsoldanorealtor.com ue. “Closing the actual school buildings for the year does not mean it’s time to start summer vacation early,” he said. Because of the virus, high school seniors across the state would be forced to miss the pageantry of their senior prom, being recognized at Awards Night and Edward Elgar’s melodious “Pomp and Circumstance” at graduation. Yet, Baker had a few words for those students. “To all the seniors let me just say ‘keep your heads up,’” he said. For Yebba, that was easier said than done. “I cried – it was like a huge wave of sadness,” she said. “To think I’ll never walk the halls as a student again pained me. It’s so hard to say goodbye to a building that has so much meaning and memories.” Mayor Carlo DeMaria gave a thumbs up during the employee appreciation rally at CHA Everett Hospital on April 17. (Photo Courtesy of the City of Everett) Parker was almost at a loss for words following Baker’s announcement. “I’m still taking it all in,” he said. “There’s a lot of concern.” School Committee Memberat-Large Samantha Lambert said the announcement was not “entirely unexpected.” “It was still hard to process what this means, as both a parent and member of the School Committee,” she said. “The fears, anxiety and concerns parents, families and students are feeling are valid.” Although deeply saddened, Ward 4 School Committee Member Dana Murray said she understood Baker’s decision. “I believe that Everett is strong and resilient; we will pull through,” she said. “We are in this together, even if we have to be separated.” School Committee Memberat-Large Millie Cardello said it was early on in the pandemic when she realized that the remainder of the school year would be in jeopardy. “Within a week I had that gut feeling,” she said. “Everyone else started jumping on the long-term bandwagon.” Like Murray, Cardello said she understood the rationale behind Baker’s decision. “There is no way we could safely socially distance students and teachers,” she said. May The School Committee voted unanimously, during its May 18 meeting, to submit a request to U.S. Senator Ed Markey, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren asking them to petition their colleagues for additional federal education funding. Superintendent of Schools Priya Tahiliani said the district was providing an average of 350 meals per day despite a projected shortfall from the Federal Meals Program that would cost the Everett Public Schools $200,000. In addition, she said the district had managed to keep its 936 employees on payroll and invested $400,000 for 2,000 more Chromebooks. School Committee Vice Chairman Frank Parker agreed that the district needed to look to Capitol Hill rather than Beacon Hill. “Without a doubt, the state needs federal help,” he said. Financial assistance for small businesses As the pandemic continued to run rampant, small business owners were reminded that fi - nancial assistance remained available. Nadine Boone of the Massachusetts District of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) spoke about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). “The Small Business Administration has done 14 years of work in 14 days,” she said during a small business webinar on May 4. Boone said PPP loans would become grants provided that 75 percent of the money was used for payroll and that the remaining 25 percent was used for rent and utilities. “It’s an incentive for small business owners to keep their employees on payroll,” she said. “The rules of engagement are very important.” She also emphasized that small business owners did not need a relationship with a particular bank to be eligible for the PPP. “I want to make that clear,” she said. However, Boone said the program had a time limit. “This program ends on June 30 or as soon as money runs out,” she said, 2020 | SEE PAGE 9
9 Publizr Home