Manor Ink March 2021

6 | MAR. 2021 | MANOR INK NEWS
Stressed by funding losses, added expenses
Continued from pg. 5
Evans said that attendance has greatly declined
and grades have decreased as well.
Mental health among students and teachers
also appears to be a concern. Evans emphasized
that the pandemic has taken a huge
toll on students, staff and faculty. “Our
PANDEMIC
YEAR ONE
public school system
was not designed to be
virtual,” he said. “It was
designed to be in-person,
with teachers trained to teach in an in-person
environment.” But he said the 2019-20
school year was far more challenging due
to the lack of COVID-19 knowledge and
the few tools and resources available at the
time. He believes the 2020-21 school year
will be better by comparison.
“In late March or early April 2020, the
n Sunday, Feb. 7: The moment my
mother and I landed at John F. Kennedy
Airport, we remembered how cold New
York was. As we wandered through
the eerily empty airport, devoid of its
characteristic bustle, there were a total of
three people waiting for taxis. Clumsily
juggling all of our baggage, we hailed a
cab, clambered into it and breathed a sigh
of relief. We had made it. Staring out the
window onto the fresh snow, the floodlights
illuminated everything so perfectly
as we drove past. I don’t think I’ve ever
been more appreciative of a nighttime
ride in a busted, old taxi smelling faintly
of cigarette smoke.
n Monday, Feb. 8: My first full day of
quarantine can only be described as ...
uneventful! I feared that the realization
that I was trapped inside for ten full days
would unexpectedly hit me like a ton
of bricks. But the notion of entrapment
never fully took hold. Instead of spiraling
into an existential crisis, we ordered fast
food and rotated the TV to face the table
as we ate. Domestic bliss at its finest.
n Tuesday, Feb. 9: Somehow, I prefer
attending school online when I know
the outside world is a frigid, bleak place.
In the Caribbean, every moment spent
sprawled apathetically in front of the
state was predicting a 20-percent reduction
in school funding, which is $1.6 million to
Livingston Manor,” Evans said. “This was
a huge stressor throughout summer and
early fall.” Luckily, LMCS did not see a loss
of funding to that degree. But though the
administration was able to save money by
eliminating traveling expenses for sports
teams and other activities, they did have to
pay for the new safety measures.
“If we were providing disposable masks to
every kid throughout the entire school year,
that would cost LMCS around $86,000,” Evans
said. To save money, the school chose to
give two cloth masks to each student, which
cost much less. Tens of thousands of dollars
were also spent on acrylic sheet barriers,
hand sanitizing stations and other health
precautions, greatly affecting the school’s
10 days, now standard practice
Manor Ink reporter Nadine Osborne recently returned from a trip with her family to the
island of Antigua (see her travelogue in the Jan./Feb. issue). Once back in New York, COVID-19
precautions required that the Osbornes quarantine for ten days. To supplement our overview of
the past 12 months of the coronavirus, Nadine kept this journal of her days in isolation.
computer felt torturous, like I was being
taunted by my inability to go outside and
appreciate the warmth. When I can see the
ice crystallizing on the windowpane, however,
huddling under a blanket in front of
my laptop doesn’t feel half bad.
n Wednesday, Feb. 10: I once heard a
story about a woman who walked an
entire marathon solely by pacing back and
forth in her studio apartment. I thought
for a second about attempting to break her
record, but then another second passed
and I realized that goal was hilariously
unrealistic. Instead, we set up a stationary
bike in front of the TV so that I could
pedal as I marathoned my favorite shows.
n Thursday, Feb. 11: An academically
heavy day is made infinitely better by a
dinner consisting solely of warm, buttery
beef ramen.
n Friday, Feb. 12: The first time I rode the
bike, I overexerted myself by furiously
pedaling during a tense scene in my
favorite TV show. This time, I knew better.
As I worded it in my school workout
journal, “Although there were still quite a
few difficult bits, I got the hang of it.”
n Saturday, Feb. 13: Waking up on a
Sunday feels utterly pointless. The later
you sleep, the fewer hours you have
budget. Funding is further complicated by
the 1.23-percent tax cap the school must
work with this year. That means LMCS’s
budget can only be increased by $109,000.
“Financially and economically, COVID-19
has taken a massive toll on our state and nation,
and on us locally as a school district,”
Evans said. “We are not looking to cut anything,
but finances are tight.”
This past year has been filled with oncein-a-lifetime
events and with many unknowns
regarding COVID-19. Whether
or not the vaccine is effective is a debated
question among the nation, but people
must remain optimistic and hopeful. But,
optimism alone will not stop the spread.
Social distancing, wearing masks, limiting
contact with others and staying safe
when in public are essential. Remember to
INSIDE RIDE Going nowhere fast, stationary
biking is the only way to pedal when
quarantining. Nadine Osborne photo
before you’re inevitably forced back into
the drudgery of school. Sunday mornings
have a certain bittersweetness to them that
only looms larger as the day progresses.
That is, until you remember that it’s Saturday,
and you’ve got a long weekend ahead
of you.
n Sunday, Feb. 14: More biking. This
time, my school workout journal simply
read, “I just got the hang of it.”
n Monday, Feb. 15: I went to bed at 8:30
p.m. and woke up at 3 a.m. This entry
speaks for itself.
n Tuesday, Feb. 16: According to school
regulations, I’m allowed to leave the
house on one condition and one condition
only: getting a COVID test. It
needs to be negative, and in their hands
STILL NOT THE SAME Manor Ink’s coverage
of the coronavirus pandemic began with its
March 2020 issue. Manor Ink photo
be mindful of your health as well as your
neighbor’s safety.
by Friday at noon. Otherwise, I’m not
permitted on school grounds during my
upcoming in-person week. The moment
I stumbled out of the house, the cold hit
me like a slap to the face. Luckily, I ventured
outdoors on a partly sunny day of
42 degrees, but the wind swept sharply
down the block, blowing right through
my red parka (which was meant for a
12-year-old boy). When I arrived at the
clinic, I could smell the bleach through
the ill-fitting fabric of my mask. They sat
me down, shoved a cotton swab up my
nose, and sent me on my way. I was in
and out of the world in 15 minutes, tops.
Reentering society after days trapped
indoors has never been less appealing.
n Wednesday, Feb. 17: Today is the last
full day of quarantine. Saying that would
be positively thrilling if I was overflowing
with the desire to go outside. Honestly
though, I might stay in a little while
longer. I’m unashamed to admit that I
take perhaps a little too much comfort in
the warmth of the indoors. This time of
year, the earth has frozen solid, lying dormant
in anticipation of spring. The world
is cold, and it’s going to stay that way for
quite some time. I would call it cold and
dark for dramatic effect, but that’s hardly
true. In New York City, cloudy nights are
the brightest; while the smog conceals the
moon, it also reflects the light pollution,
creating a blanket of artificial brightness.
Nighttime in the country is really cold
and really dark. In the city, however, you
can always count on the floodlights to
illuminate the freshly fallen snow.
Nadine Osborne