After a lengthy and stunningly frank conversation about racism in the Guilderland schools, the school board here added a full-time post for an administrator who will oversee diversity, equity, and inclusion in the district.

Enrollment in the Voorheesville Central School District is projected to increase to 1,300 by 2025-26, a nearly 100-student increase from its current count, 1,204.

For Farnsworth Middle School, its principal said, “One of the pillars is social equity … Something that’s always on our minds as educators here is make sure we are inclusive.”

GUILDERLAND — Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland is among 16 schools statewide that have been redesignated as a 2021 Essential Elements: Schools to Watch.

On the revenue side, Guilderland has calculated state aid for next year’s budget, ranging from $20 million to nearly $25 million. Under the state-set tax-levy limit, the most Guilderland can raise in property taxes is about $76,000,000.

“We are a safe haven as well as a place of learning,” said Marie wiles, Guilderland’s superintendent of schools.

The school district continues to plan for the eventuality that the area will be declared a micro-cluster zone, which requires random COVID-19 testing of students and staff for the schools to remain open. So far, about 75 percent of Guilderland respondents have agreed to be tested.

“Furloughs were not cost effective even in the future for the library,” Guilderland library trustee Barbara Fraterrigo said she learned. This is because staff put on furlough would be eligible for unemployment and, since the library is self-insured, “You reimburse the state for those funds anyway,” she said.

The Guilderland Central School District is asking parents for permission to test their children for COVID-19 should the state require it.

Beginning on Thursday, Dec. 10, Guilderland students in eighth through 12th grade will learn from home due to staff shortages caused by quarantine requirements.