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Date: 11/15/2022
NORTHAMPTON – After well over an hour of discussion, the Northampton School Committee decided to adopt their new mask policy, incorporating guidelines created by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) with an 8-2 vote on Nov. 10.
The decision comes after months of debate about who should decide the COVID-19 policy for Northampton Public Schools. The updated language also allows the superintendent to make swift emergency decisions on masking based on transmission data, if necessary.
Background
Reminder Publishing reported on a masking policy for the coronavirus pandemic that the School Committee accepted in August. The approved policy allowed for the superintendent and or School Committee to implement universal indoor masking if the Hampshire County level of COVID-19 transmission and hospitalization is at a “high” level.
Universal masking would also go into place if the superintendent determines that the school data indicates increased transmission and student and staff absenteeism will have a negative impact on student learning.
Under the previous approval, the universal mask mandate would be rescinded if transmission and hospitalization levels subside to “low” for two weeks.
The COVID-19 Advisory Subcommittee conducted a special meeting on Oct. 3 to workshop the language after some disputes about who should dictate the implementation of a universal mask mandate, and ultimately voted 4-2 in favor of incorporating the DESE language.
The revised policy was eventually sent to the Rules & Policy Subcommittee for review of the recommendations put forth by the Advisory Subcommittee. The main recommendation involved the inclusion of DESE guidelines in their existing mask policy.
In August, DESE released a memo stating the following: “With COVID-19 vaccines now readily available, treatments accessible to those at higher risk for severe disease, and widespread availability of self-tests, DESE and DPH have continued to evolve our support for schools in collaboration with the medical community and in line with the most recent CDC guidance issued August 11, 2022.”
As a result, the commonwealth decided not to recommend universal mask requirements, surveillance testing of asymptomatic individuals, contact tracing, or test-to-stay testing in schools.
Some School Committee members, however, felt that DESE’s recommendations do not adequately protect students and teachers if a COVID-19 surge were to occur.
“I think there’s a lot of unknown questions in the DESE guidance about what does and does not fit our policy,” said Ward 4 School Committee member Michael Stein, arguing that the memo is not in line with CDC guidelines.
Currently, the CDC guidelines provides more power to schools to implement a mandate if cases are increasing.
Nov. 10 meeting
The decision to send the updated policy with DESE recommendations to Rules & Policy prompted a letter signed by 200 residents to adopt state policy.
Ultimately, the committee decided to include DESE’s guidance with the caveat that the superintendent has the power to institute a mask mandate under emergency circumstances with the guidance of the Superintendent Health Advisory Committee (SHAC). Typically, this would occur if transmission and absentee rates are noticeably high.
“I think that our Health Department, SHAC and our superintendent all have the same objectives in mind,” said committee member Holly Ghazey, the chair of Rules & Policy. “I don’t think that the policy will limit our ability to mask when necessary.”
Sciarra also said that the Board of Health also holds the right to institute a citywide mask mandate at any time they see fit, which would include schools anyway.
Beyond that though, the committee conducted debates around the idea of local control-in other words, who had the right to institute such a mandate. Both Stein and Ward 1 member Meg Robbins were hesitant to relinquish control to the state.
“If we give up local control…we’re really putting ourselves in a minefield,” said Robbins. “I don’t want to see us go there.”
Superintendent Jannell Pearson-Campbell said she felt comfortable consulting SHAC on a daily basis about COVID-19 cases and argued that all decisions regarding COVID-19 must be made swiftly when it comes to masking.
“When you have a COVID-19 outbreak, you don’t pick up the phone and call the School Committee,” said Pearson-Campbell. “You begin to make decisions based on the health of families and children at that point in time.”
“When [nurses] see a large number of kids coming in, you start that policy right then and there,” continued Pearson-Campbell. “I think we have to remember that we have experts in the room that contact each other…you got to make that decision quick.”