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Date: 3/30/2022
HOLYOKE – In revisiting the Holyoke Public Schools masking policy during their March 21 meeting, the School Committee voted to revoke the policy on March 25.
The vote included the option to remove the mandate by March 24 if the announcement was properly communicated to families by then.
Superintendent and Receiver for Holyoke schools Anthony Soto said like all COVID-19-related decisions in the schools that he has taken recommendations from health experts and is doing his best to listen to parents concerns and comments.
During the previous School Committee meeting, Soto and the committee decided to keep the mask mandate in place following the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s decision to let its statewide mandate expire at the end of February. While the state made its decision, it still left it up to communities to decide when to make the change when they felt necessary.
Holyoke had already seen the city-wide mask mandate lifted and Soto and the committee decided to take a little time before removing the mandate from schools, especially with students coming back from February break the same week the change was put in place. Now, the superintendent said the numbers show the timing is right to lift the mandate.
“Things are looking good and have gotten extremely better compared to where we were and a couple a months ago,” Soto said.
Soto added he surveyed families once the option to unmask in schools was available to get feedback on how they felt. According to Soto, 55 percent of parents at the time still wanted masks mandatory in schools while 45 percent did not. Soto said based on this information, the decision was made to revisit the mandate at the March 21 meeting.
Soto said he and his team have been keeping a close eye on case numbers in surrounding communities following their decisions to remove masks in schools.
“We have been keeping a close eye on what’s going to happen when these communities lift their masks. Are they gonna see a spike? So far, that’s not the case,” said Soto. “There is no indication that lifting the mask mandate is going to make a rise in cases.”
According to the data shared during the School Committee meeting and in a letter to parents, there have been no increases in positive COVID-19 cases in the communities of Chicopee, South Hadley, West Springfield, Westfield, Agawam, Granby and Longmeadow since lifting their respective mask mandates.
Soto initially had planned for the mandate to end by March 28. Various School Committee members and Mayor Joshua Garica asked the superintendent to consider making the decision official at a sooner date as they have already waited the majority of March. Ultimately, the committee agreed to set the expiration date for March 25.
Soto’s letter to families indicated that masks will still be required in the school nurse’s office and also said that anyone who chooses to continue wearing a mask for any reason will have the full support of administrators, teachers, and staff.
“We know that there are no guarantees. We have seen both nationwide and around the world that COVID-19 cases have periodically dropped and then returned with a surge. However, available data at this time indicates we can cautiously move forward with a hopeful return to pre-pandemic living by removing our mask requirements,” Soto wrote in his letter to families.
Soto added in the letter that the health and safety of schools is still the highest priority and they will continue to monitor local and regional health metrics and remain in compliance with all current and future health regulations set by the city, state and federal governments. He added it would be irresponsible of the schools to suggest that they will never again require masks.