Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 11/3/2021
WESTHAMPTON – The Hampshire Regional School Committee adopted a new policy at its Oct. 25 meeting mandating that Hampshire Regional High School personnel must vaccinate against COVID-19.
“There was a vote on that [vaccinations] and the committee by majority, not unanimously, but by majority decided to require vaccinations for our staff,” Hampshire Regional School Committee Chair Margaret Larson told Reminder Publishing.
The new mandate went into effect Nov. 1.
Ninety-six percent of the Hampshire Regional High School faculty are already fully vaccinated. While vaccinations are preferred, the committee agreed to provide an alternative that allows those who opt not to be vaccinated to submit to weekly testing in certain cases.
“There’s a small number of people that will have either a medical exemption or a religious exemption,” Larson explained.
As for everyone else, vaccinations are required. “There may be people who just don't have an exemption, but choose not to be vaccinated and they would be required to get one,” said Larson.
Though there is a vaccination policy set in place for staff, there’s nothing currently in place for students.
“A vaccination policy [for students] hasn’t been proposed by any School Committee member, by any school committee or by the administration at this point,” stated Larson.
The committee also revisited its ongoing discussion about mask mandates and vaccination policies during the meeting.
“Our particular mask policy at the high school calls for monthly review. So we were just reviewing it based on the language in our policy,” Larson said. “We understood at that point that it was likely that DESE was going to extend their mandate and we know that we’re just beholden to whatever they decide and they did in fact do that.”
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) sets the standard for COVID-19 procedures throughout the state. On Oct. 27, DESE announced that Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley would extend the current mask requirement in K-12 public schools statewide through at least Jan. 15, 2022. Districts that can demonstrate that their school populations have achieved a vaccination rate of at least 80 percent can apply to the state to lift the mask requirement.
Regarding COVID-19 procedures in general, Superintendent Diana Bonneville has developed an overarching policy for schools within the district. “This was developed by our superintendent in coordination with various schools in our district and every School Committee voted on that,” Larson said. “This wasn’t something that came down as an edict, it was something that bubbled up from our communities.”
While some schools in the district choose to abide by Bonneville’s stated policy, there are some that don’t see a need for it.
“Not every one of our schools has agreed to it. Some just didn't take it up based on the fact that they’re at a 100 percent vaccinations right now, others felt like they weren't close enough and then others voted on it and passed it,” explained Larson.
For more information regarding COVID-19 for the Hampshire Regional District you can visit https://www.hr-k12.org/en-US.