GUILDERLAND — Blanca Parker says she appreciates the education she got in the Guilderland schools and she’s running for the school board both because she wants to give back and because she thinks she can help make improvements.

GUILDERLAND — Luciano Alonzi says his recent firsthand experience as a Guilderland student gives him insights other board members may not have. At 22, he’s making his first run for school board.

He says he’s “seen the system from the inside.”

GUILDERLAND — Benjamin Goes says the best thing he’s ever done is volunteer with Guilderland High School’s E = mc2 program, helping students with individual projects. “It inspired me to be more involved with the schools and to find more ways to support students so I decided to run for school board,” he said.

GUILDERLAND — “I love working with kids,” says Judy Slack who has served on the Guilderland School board for 12 years and is now seeking a fifth term.

GUILDERLAND — Rebecca Butterfiled is a child-health advocate who believes her expertise is especially valuable to the Guilderland School Board now as it faces educating children in the midst of a pandemic.

The Capital Region plan asks all businesses and employees to sign a pledge that they understand what is being asked of them and are committed to doing their part to reopen the region for business and keep it open.

“These are very serious times and you can’t do things like you want to do,” Dion Lewis said of following protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Lewis helped launch a new county initiative — #AlbanyCountyStaySafe — to get teens to submit videos and photos of how they are staying safe.

“I think it’s the unpredictability that is the challenge here, trying to plan for something that we don’t really know what it’s going to look like or what our needs are going to be,” said Guilderland schools Superintendent Marie Wiles, discussing next year’s budget. “I do think we’re going to need more resources, not less as we open the school year.”

Work sites are to be set up to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as the Capital Region begins the first phase of reopening tomorrow. Returning workers are to be tested for COVID-19.

Albany County’s mental-health emergency response team is ready to help the families and friends of residents who have died of COVID-19 just as it would if there were a plane crash, offering grief counseling and support.