SARANAC LAKE — “We’re still on track,” said Diane Fox, superintendent of the Saranac Lake Central School District, at Wednesday night’s Board of Education meeting.

Saranac Lake and Bloomingdale schools are scheduled to open for in-person learning on Sept. 8.

Fox made it clear that the school district will shut down for 14 days if there is a confirmed COVID case.

If — or when — that happens, “You need to have a plan B for child care,” she said. “We’re all going to be flexible and patient.”

“We’ve been working on this for a long time,” Fox said as she and the other board members met to go over plans for the start of the school year, one that’s taken months of planning to meet demands of learning in the time of COVID-19.

“We’re moving from the big picture to all the nuances,” continued Fox. “And there are a lot of nuances.”

Many new teachers and coaches have been hired to help with the added demands of the new school year, which is a hybrid model of both in-person and remote learning. Mentors and aides have also been added, as well as additional bus drivers, bus monitors and custodians.

“Many retired people have volunteered to come back,” said Fox of those who are helping to meet the staffing needs of the new year.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced that lower-risk school sports such as soccer and cross-country can now practice and play, and that higher-risk sports such as football and volleyball can begin practice later in September. That’s “another big lift,” according to Fox.

About 700 school districts in New York will now be opening, according to Fox, with about 80 deciding to delay reopening for a few weeks.

One major concern is testing, especially given how long it currently takes to get test results back.

“We’ll see how fast we get tests back,” she said, “once there are 600 of us.”

Also on the board’s agenda was a discussion of a new diversity committee, which came out of the public discussion at the last board meeting. Board members Joe Henderson, Jeff Branch and Nancy Bernstein went over their initial planning notes, which covered the goals, structure, policies, membership and activities of the committee. Questions for further consideration include a review of the current curriculum and policies, a draft of a diversity plan to address racism, bias and equity, a review of past incidents and possible training for school employees.