SWAMPSCOTT — While experts say that students should wear masks in classrooms this fall, many local parents disagree, saying that they want to make the decision themselves.
At a School Committee forum held Wednesday night at Swampscott High School, committee members heard input from residents and public school district stakeholders on whether they should implement a mask mandate when school resumes in a few weeks.
“Not only are we looking at the children of our district, but we are also the employers of more than 400 people,” said Committee Chair Amy O’Connor. “We do take this very seriously.”
Occupational health nurse Amanda Mulcahy told the committee that over the last four weeks, there have been 34 new cases of COVID-19 in Swampscott, following seven weeks of no confirmed cases, and that Essex County is currently rated in the “high-transmission” category by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meaning that masks are encouraged.
She also noted that many of the students are under 12, which means that they are not yet eligible to be vaccinated.
Health Director Jeff Vaughan spoke for his department and the Board of Health, saying that they were in agreement that masks should be required during the school year because of the high transmissibility of the Delta variant, which has also caused cases among those who have been vaccinated.
If a mandate is implemented, committee members and Superintendent of Schools Pamela Angelakis discussed the potential of exceptions for students with physical- or mental-health conditions that make it difficult to wear a mask, as well as setting a specific date at which to review the policy.
However, not everyone is on board with the potential mandate. Christopher Kane, who has two children, said that he was against the idea.
“The stress, the anxiety around our kids having to wear masks again is just disgusting,” Kane said. “We feel that any medical decisions with our kids is our choice. It’s not your choice, it’s not the School Committee’s choice, it’s not the town’s choice.”
Some other parents said that masks made it very difficult for their students to learn effectively.
“My youngest cannot breathe in them. He hates them on his face and can’t understand what his teacher said,” said Stela Shehu. “Kindergarteners will not be able to do what they should be doing as kindergarteners.”
School psychologist Craig Harris, however, said that he had heard from many students who were worried about returning to school if their classmates did not wear masks, and that for children over the age of 3, having adults wear masks around them would not affect them developmentally.
“I have not heard any student yet say that wearing a mask is such a detriment that they can’t stay in school,” Harris said. “I also have heard students understand the anxiety of others and willingness to mask and protect others in the community.”
Parent Katie Tat dismissed claims by other speakers that COVID-19 had less effect on children, saying that her personal experience had shown her otherwise.
“I had the unfortunate experience of attending a funeral for a child locally who died from COVID. It was very traumatizing and I don’t want to see anyone in our community go through that,” she said. “It’s minimally uncomfortable for most of us to wear a mask. It’s traumatic to lose someone close to us.”
The School Committee will continue discussion of the issue at its next meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 25.
