NORWICH — On Wednesday, the Bainbridge-Guilford school District Superintendent Tim Ryan presented the 2021-2022 budget plan during a public hearing.

The plan emphasizes the affect COVID-19 had on expenses for the district. Ryan stated the overall cost of COVID-related expenses was about $251,000.

"The big piece that I want to communicate to our community is that the district spent $251,000 on COVID this past school year, and I think that some people feel that because school has been open in a hybrid model, and at times we've been fully remote, that there's all this money left over, but yet we've had to spend $251,000 that we didn't budget for during this academic school year," said Ryan.

The COVID-related costs include equipment to clean and disinfect the buildings, masks and personal protective equipment for staff members and students, and Chromebooks and software for all students, according to Ryan.

"We had talked about a rollout for devices before COVID ever hit the district, so I guess a positive thing from COVID is it forced us to get the devices out to students," said Ryan.