'Parents to make the choice': Hampton schools to go mask optional starting March 7
HAMPTON — When Centre School, Marston Elementary and Hampton Academy students return from winter vacation on March 7, they will have an option on whether to wear a mask.
The board voted 3-2 to go mask optional after an emergency meeting Friday night, where a number of parents spoke in favor of getting rid of the mandate.
"It's optional," said School Board member Ginny Bridle-Russell, who made the motion. "I want to give it back to the parents. I want the parents to make the choice, the children are theirs and they need to make the choice."
The only caveat is that masks will still be required on buses per federal rule as well as in music classes at the request of music teachers.
SAU 90 joins South Hampton which is going mask recommended on March 7 and Hampton Falls School District on March 14. The Winnacunnet School Board will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the topic on Feb. 22.
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SAU 90 has been following recommendations from the CDC and New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, which recommend mask usage indoors when there is a "substantial" community spread of COVID, which has been the case since the start of the school year.
“Substantial” community spread is defined as 100 cases or more per 100,000 in the last two weeks in Rockingham County, or test positivity increases to more than 10% in the last seven days as defined by the state.
Currently, there are 334.1 cases per 100,000 and a test positivity rate of 8.5% in the last seven days, according to information from the state Department of Health and Human Services.
As of Feb. 14, there were zero COVID cases at Hampton Academy, four at Marston and five at Centre School.
Parents want mask choice
With COVID numbers declining in recent weeks, a number of parents have renewed efforts to remove the mask mandate.
"At this point, I don't see any valid reason for our kids, or parents, cannot have a choice on wearing a mask or not," said Lisa Arakelian, who noted everywhere outside of school is mask optional. "There is no factual evidence at this time to make these kids wear a mask 7 hours out of the day."
Parent Megan Holbrook said she initially supported the school district's back-to-school plan calling it "a path towards normalcy."
"I no longer support any part of this plan," she said, noting the impact to the mental and emotional well-being of children from wearing masks is far greater than the disease.
She brought up studies that show masking contributes to speech and language delays, and anxiety and depression "as masking contributes stress response in certain kids."
"Masking is not working for everyone and it should be a choice," she said.
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Other parents brought up the mental health toll the last two years have had on their children, several saying their kids no longer want to go to school.
"My youngest child is at Marston and he's a highly energetic 10-year-old boy who has begun in the last month coming home telling me he has this weird feeling in his stomach," parent Shannon Clifford said. "And he starts crying and doesn't want to go to school.
"...What I would like to see is a chart of the mental health and not a chart of the cases."
Other parents questioned whether masks are even helping to stop the spread of COVID, as studies show the cloth masks that most kids wear are not as effective as N95 and KN95 masks against the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Another said their child thinks it's normal to wear a mask and "that's no way to live."
"All I'm asking is that you give us a chance to make the right decision for our children and let them have a voice and go to school without a mask," said parent Scott Logan.
SAU 90 leadership in favor of mask optional but not March 7
SAU 90 Superintendent Lois Costa recommended the board go mask recommended starting March 18, with the caveat that if CDC loosens mask guidelines or if the county is no longer in the substantial spread zone that it could be sooner.
Her recommendation for a two-week window after winter vacation, she said, was based on looking at the data which shows there was a spike in cases after Christmas break.
She noted Dec. 20-23, there were 7 cases in SAU 90. That spiked the week after vacation (Jan. 3-7) to 71 and the week after to 59 before declining to 20 during the week of Jan. 31 to Feb. 4.
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The caveat that masks remain worn during music classes was based on the recommendation of teachers and research findings in the International Coalition of Performing Arts Aerosol Study.
Board weighs in on masks
Board members Wendy Rega and chairman Les Shepard said they heard from a number of parents, not at the meeting, who contacted them via email, phone and texts all wanting to keep the mask mandate in place. Some of the calls, Les Shepard said, were parents of children who are immunocompromised.
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"They're a lot of loud super vocal people here and the people who are on the other side, they are not as loud. They are intimidated," said Rega. "I was inundated with emails, calls, and texts today (telling me) 'I work for the school, and I don't feel comfortable standing up and addressing this,' 'I don't want the parents of my kids to be mad at me.' 'I don't want to have an issue with administrators.'"
Rega said she thought the superintendent's recommendation was "a good compromise."
While Costa suggested putting out another parent survey, Bridle-Russell said the people who want to keep masks should have been at the meeting.
"You have to have the courage of your convictions," she said.
Board members Frank DeLuca and Andrea Shepard voted to support Bridle-Russell's motion with "great reservation."
The board noted they could revisit the issue if cases spike.