LYNN — The School Committee voted unanimously Thursday to make wearing masks in Lynn Public Schools optional, effective March 14.
The vote comes a day after state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley announced that the statewide mask mandate in K-12 public schools will be lifted on Feb. 28.
School Committee member Tiffany Magnolia said the March 14 date was selected in case a possible COVID-19 outbreak occurs following the February break. She added that March will be warmer — allowing for more mitigation measures in school buildings.
“As we move into warmer months, teacher-mitigation strategies such as opening up windows become more available,” Magnolia said. “I think March 14 works as a middle ground for our constituents.”
Committee member Lenny Pena said the mask mandate made it hard for young children, including his 5-year-old son, to read the facial expressions of his peers and teachers.
“I know how important it is for them to learn from facial recognition,” Pena said.
Committee member Eric Dugan heard from constituents that some students who have sensory issues have difficulty with wearing masks, and cited that as a reason for making masks optional in the Lynn Public Schools.
“Kids with sensory issues are affected by the masks, which have been detrimental,” Dugan said. “Many people might disagree, but I think it’s time for our kids to take the masks off and let them be optional.”
Before the vote, Lynn Public Health Director Michele Desmarais told the School Committee that she recommended making masks in schools optional, citing a decrease in COVID-19 cases since winter break and an increase in vaccinations among students 5 to 11 years old.
“We have had a decrease in numbers and I think vaccinations are the most important tool to combat the disease,” Desmarais said. “There has to come a time where we all have to learn to live with COVID. We still need to keep our kids coming to school and keep our businesses thriving.”
Mayor Jared Nicholson, who chairs the committee, said the city would also support making masks optional in schools, and it has tools at its disposal, such as N-95 masks, to ensure children who want to wear masks have them. He said there will also be a focus on ensuring that students ages 5 to 11 and older are vaccinated.
“Vaccines are the most important thing to battle in this pandemic,” Nicholson said. “There is still work to do to get people’s vaccinations up to date and focusing on ages 5-11 in Lynn Public Schools is important.”
Nicholson and Desmarais announced Wednesday afternoon that Lynn was rescinding its indoor-mask mandate, effective immediately, citing decreases in the city’s cases and positivity rate from January to February.
The city’s decision to rescind its mask mandate and call for optional mask-wearing in schools follows a trend of cities and towns across Massachusetts lifting COVID-19 restrictions throughout February.
In Salem, the city’s Board of Health rescinded its indoor-mask and vaccine mandates on Tuesday night. Salem Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stephen Zrike announced Thursday night on Facebook live that the city’s School Committee is expected to hold a special meeting before their planned meeting on Feb. 28 to discuss mask-wearing in the Salem Public Schools.
“There’s been a conversation. It’s always considered (in consultation) with the Board of Health and the balance between the educational needs of students and safety needs of young people,” Zrike said.
Despite more cities considering following the DESE guidelines, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Thursday that the city would still uphold its mask mandate in the Boston Public Schools.
