BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA — A settlement payment of over $4,000 is being made to the Massena Central School District as part of an agreement with Altria Group Inc.

The settlement comes after a national lawsuit against Altria was settled after it was determined the company marketed e-cigarettes and vaping products to children after the company was named as a defendant in a lawsuit against Juul Labs.

But how the district intends to spend that money has yet to be determined.

This is the second settlement the district has received, following a settlement with Juul Labs.

That national lawsuit, brought by numerous school districts across the nation, brought $14,492 to the district as part of the settlement. More than 1,400 school districts were involved in that lawsuit, school officials previously said.

According to Superintendent Ron Burke, the funds can be utilized in the school’s general fund since there is no stipulation regarding how the money needs to be used.

One idea that was raised in regards to the funding was to potentially use it for student health issues.

“I propose something slightly different. I would propose that we make the settlement monies available to the Wellness Committee for an initiative that they would come up with,” Board of Education President Paul Haggett said.

Though Board Vice President Kevin Perretta suggested using the money “specifically for the purpose of where it was generated from,” he said he had no issues with making the funds available for the Wellness Committee.

“I just don’t want to see it just get used for whatever. I want it for some kind of benefit in that regard,” he said.

The acceptance of the settlement was approved by the board of education, who agreed that the use of the funds would be discussed during next month’s board meeting.