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Date: 3/22/2022
NORTHAMPTON – After a lengthy discussion during a March 17 special meeting, the Northampton School Committee decided to maintain its mask mandate within the district by a 6-1 vote.
The positive vote came with a couple of key amendments that will dictate how discussions are carried out over the next few weeks. Within this decision, the School Committee asked the Superintendent’s Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) to develop thresholds that the committee can use when the mask mandate is dissolved or reinstated in the future. The committee also asked SHAC to explore what would be safe conditions for students to have masks off during school hours.
The committee made their decision to maintain the mandate after city Health Director Meridith O’Leary recommended in a statement to the committee that masks should continue to be worn in school, even if the citywide mandate is currently rescinded.
“While the Northampton Board of Health recently voted unanimously to lift the mask requirement for the city, the Northampton Health Department and Board of Health continue to recommend the wearing of masks when indoors for prolonged periods of time with people who live outside of your households,” said O’Leary’s statement, which was read aloud during the meeting by committee member Michael Stein. “Mask-wearing continues to be a valuable piece of a multi-component approach to COVID-19 prevention in schools.”
Stein, who was one of the major advocates for maintaining the mask mandate, stated in the meeting that masks are one of the few remaining mitigation strategies the district can take to prevent spread of the virus, adding that vaccines are still unavailable for some younger students.
“What troubles me about DESE’s refusal to allow for hybrid or remote instruction is that it puts the vulnerable in a difficult position and can severely restrict access to education … lifting mask mandates would cause similar consequences,” Stein argued. “I do not think it is too much to ask for universal masking to continue in our schools in order to protect the vulnerable among us.”
Prior to the special meeting, Superintendent John Provost released a survey to the district asking students, staff and caregivers their opinions on the current mask mandate. According to Provost, the survey garnered more responses than any other survey the district has released during his tenure.
The survey indicated that, out of 940 caregivers, 63.2 percent were very comfortable or somewhat comfortable with removing masks.
Out of 463 students who responded, 60 percent were very comfortable or somewhat comfortable with unmasking, while 34.3 percent were very or somewhat uncomfortable with unmasking. Additionally, out of 293 staff members who responded, 65.3 percent were very or somewhat comfortable with removing masks, while 28.2 percent were very or somewhat uncomfortable.
“I think we have a responsibility in our community to protect our most vulnerable, and those are the kids under five that are not able to be vaccinated,” said Roz Chapman, a member of the public who spoke during public comment. “I think if we remove masks indoors, COVID will spread in our schools … the pandemic is not over. I would advocate that we keep masks in place in school.”
Another member of a public identified on Zoom as “Erin’s iPhone,” also advocated for the mask mandate to stay in place, saying that there are a number of people in the district with auto-immune disorders and other heart conditions that still put them at risk of COVID-19.
The SHAC planned to meet within the next couple weeks to discuss the thresholds and other safe conditions that will help inform the committee on future decision-making regarding masks.