WESTHAMPTON — With the state’s school mask mandate expiring at the end of this month, the Hampshire Regional School Committee will vote next Monday on lifting its local school mask order.
Hampshire Regional’s mask mandate, which covers Hampshire Regional High School, is separate from DESE’s mask mandate. DESE’s mandate is set to expire Feb. 28, Gov. Charlie Baker’s office announced Wednesday. The regional district’s public safety committee, which has representatives from the school’s staff, administration and school committee, has endorsed letting the district’s mandate expire if DESE’s does.
“We talked about it for quite a while,” said Lauren Hotz, Hampshire Regional’s principal. “If they rescind their mask mandate on the 28th, then the school committee would also remove their policy.”
She noted that N95 and KN95 masks are more accessible now, and that teachers will still be able to space students in their classrooms. She also said mask wearing would continue to be encouraged.
Peter Cleary, a school committee member who also serves on the public safety committee, said that he also agreed with the committee’s unanimous recommendation and also noted the availability of N95 and KN95 masks — two kinds of masks that offer substantial protection against COVID-19 for the wearer.
Heather Pellegrini, a School Committee member from Southampton, spoke passionately in favor of doing away with the school’s mask mandate. And she noted that the school has reached the 80% vaccination threshold needed under the existing state school mask order to end mandatory masking.
“What are we doing? What are we waiting for?” she said. “We owe these kids their lives back.”
Cleary suggested the school administration send the attestation form to DESE required to end masking, and then take action at the School Committee’s next meeting.
Sarah Buckley of the Hampshire Regional Eduction Association said that of the members of the association spoken to, approximately one-third backed lifting the mandate and two-thirds backed keeping it in place. She said that one concern was that the 80% vaccination threshold was schoolwide, but could vary from classroom to classroom. She also called the timing of the potential lifting being around the time of the February break concerning, as traveling and mingling could cause a COVID-19 surge, and that putting a mask mandate back into place would be difficult once lifted.
“There’s no putting that back in the box,” she said.
Hotz did say, however, that other districts have responded to surges with mask mandates.
In the public comment period, a number of people spoke in favor of lifting the mandate.
“Our focus should be on uniting the Hampshire Community,” said Cathy Thibodeau. “Let the kids begin to heal.”
Carol Barcomb, meanwhile, said that children have been conditioned to fear and said there was a mental health problem at Hampshire Regional.
“It’s time for restrictions to be over,” she said.
Eighth grade student Cody Gaida said masks are a distraction to learning at school. He also said that wearing them infringes on his religious liberty.
“The school is going against my rights,” he said.
On the other hand, meeting attendee Susannah Bastek said she thought that “it’s critical for the School Committee to listen to the teachers.”
In the end, the School Committee voted with no dissent to to submit the vaccination threshold attestation to DESE, with a plan to vote on lifting the mask mandate at the committee’s meeting next week.
That meeting will take place at 6 p.m. over Zoom on Monday.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.