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Maynard panel votes to resend mask policy; members debate superintendent authority and nurse discretion
Summary
After a lengthy discussion about consistency and staff safety, the Maynard School Committee voted 4-1 to resend (remove) the ECFA mask policy and asked the policy subcommittee and superintendent to return with revised guidance that could give nurses or the superintendent discretion to require masks when medically appropriate.
The Maynard School Committee voted 4-1 on Sept. 5 to resend the ECFA mask policy but agreed to revisit masking guidance in the policy subcommittee and to seek superintendent recommendations for site-level discretion.
Alexis Fishburn moved to resend the policy and to have the superintendent bring back recommended language; "I would like to make a motion that we resend the policy for masks ECFA and that we will upon recommendation for the superintendent revisit with a new policy," she said.
Hillary Griffiths said she was uneasy about rescinding the policy the same night the committee had moved a meeting to remote attendance for illness-related concerns, calling that combination "kind of hypocritical" and urging caution about appearing inconsistent. "If we're making the school committee meetings be remote because of COVID it's kind of hypocritical to say that we're going to increase protections for the school committee by going remote at the same time we're taking away the mask policy for students," she said.
Brian (district staff) told the committee that staff and students are welcome to wear masks voluntarily and that nurses already wear masks in the health office. Several members proposed narrow language to give the superintendent and school nurses authority to require masks in medically appropriate situations, rather than a broad districtwide mandate.
The motion to resend the ECFA policy passed on a roll-call vote: Mary Branley, Maro Hogan, Alexis Fishburn and Natasha Rivera voted yes; Hillary Griffiths voted no. The committee directed the policy subcommittee to draft updated language and gather data about peer-district practices to inform revisions.
Members agreed the subcommittee should consider at least two approaches: (1) leaving voluntary masking guidance in place while formally empowering nurses to require masks in the health office when clinically warranted, and (2) drafting a short emergency paragraph that permits the superintendent to recommend temporary masking if local public-health indicators change. The matter will return to the committee after subcommittee review.
