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Date: 3/8/2022
HADLEY – During its Feb. 28 meeting, the School Committee discussed the new changes in mask mandates within schools statewide and in the town.
In a response to the lifting of mask requirements both from the state and from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) the Hadley Board of Health has discontinued their indoor mask mandates for businesses but kept the mask mandate for their schools until March 7, a week after the state and DESE have changed their requirements. Hadley Superintendent Anne McKenzie said that in following recommendations from health professionals and the state the town is in a position due to low case numbers to lift their mask mandate.
However, in the latest Board of Health meeting a group of residents expressed a desire for a mask requirement for schools to continue for one more week as the first day townwide mandate was lifted was also the first day students returned to schools after their February vacation.
Based on those comments, the Board of Health chose to have masks be mandatory in schools until March 7. Some School Committee members questioned why the schools had to wait longer, even if it was only one more week.
School Committee Chair Humera Fasihuddin opened discussion with written comments from committee member Heather Klesch who was unable to attend the meeting. Klesch brought up concerns about the difference in dates for lifting mandates between the schools and the town and expressed that she did not support having different implementation dates and felt both mandates should have end on March 1.
McKenzie, who said she was not at the Board of Health meeting at which this decision was made, indicated that it was her understanding that parents were worried about potential additional risk with students returning from the week off from school. McKenzie said she was understanding of these concerns, especially after cases rose during the holiday season and winter break but mentioned there was no spike after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Committee member Tara Brugger responded by saying this virus has been challenging because it is not always “apples to apples” with the different variants that have come from the pandemic. She said the difference in transmissibility between variants could have played a role in the numbers.
“There was no uptick in November, but we did not have omicron. It’s not equal comparisons when we’re looking at this,” Brugger said.
McKenzie did say she has been contacted by Dr. Susan Mosler from the Board of Health for input on decisions and the board have offered great guidance and have been helpful and fully present during the pandemic. She added she was never asked directly what she expected or wanted in this process and that was something she did not expect from them either.
“I’ve tried really hard for the past two years to consistently remind people that I’m not a health expert and don’t want to be one, and I don’t think the School Committee wants to appoint itself as its own autonomous group of health experts,” McKenzie said. “We’ve done a really good job staying away from that.”
Committee member Paul Phifer expressed some disappointment in the decision from the Board of Health as he felt it was swayed by the parents’ opinions.
“I think there’s a middle ground. I understand the Board of Health have been great partners and appreciate it, but it would help to know the reason,” Phifer said. “If the rationale, is they wanted to see a week after, then what? It’s more of a procedural thing, being treated differently without justification that we know and a rationale for why and how that info will be used. I mean it’s just a week, but it’s unfortunate.”
Phifer added that he felt the Board of Health was not clear enough in making their decision even if there were concerns of a spike in schools following break. The decision from the Board of Health also caused some disappointment for Fasihuddin for reasons similar to Phifer’s.
“That was the part that was particularly disappointing to me because our community pool test acts to such a high extent and we are so out front on these things that for the town to lift but the schools not to just didn’t make much sense to me,” Fasihuddin said. “It sounds to me like at this juncture it may just be a matter of individual choice.”
Fasihuddin added that she has heard people say they will continue wearing masks and that even her own child would most likely still be wearing it in school.
“Just a reminder to people, anyone who would like to wear a mask is always welcomed to wear a mask at any time. Nobody will ever be prohibited,” McKenzie said. “There will be adults and young people who may continue to make that choice, people will always have that choice.”
Phifer and fellow committee member Ethan Percy both felt that even with the extended week for schools that they were both comfortable at this time in moving away from the mask mandate. Phifer said he still wished the Board of Health had been clearer in what the extra week serves to benefit and if they would be looking at pool testing, something McKenzie said she would look to discover in conversation with Mosler from the Board of Health.
Percy said he felt it was a precautionary measure from the Board of Health to extend the mandate a week in schools and that the pool testing provided at the schools has been extremely positive in identifying cases and avoiding spreading in the schools.
“For me it feels like the right time and feels like the precautions are already in place. People will still wear their masks. We have to continue to work together as a community,” Percy said. “Throughout this time our community has been committed to this work together. I think it’s the reason our schools stayed open so much last year, and, in my opinion, I think we’ve continued to do a great job as we’ve navigated this pandemic.”
The superintendent did share that the vaccination rate of the elementary school for both students and teachers was at 56 percent, while 90 percent of Hopkins Academy teachers and students are fully vaccinated. This data is for the first two required shots for the vaccine and data on boosted teachers and students is not currently available.
The School Committee took no action and the school’s mask mandate expired on March 7.