Andover School Officials Recommend March 7 End To Mask Mandate

ANDOVER, MA — Andover Public Schools officials have recommended a March 7 end to the district's mask mandate, one week after the statewide mandate expires.

Superintendent Magda Parvey, District Nursing Director Rita Casper and Andover Public Health Director Tom Carbone made the recommendation to the School Committee Thursday evening, as part of the committee's "first reading" of the policy.

The committee will meet again March 3 for a second reading and likely vote.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced Feb. 9 that the state requirement will end Feb. 28, leaving mask policies up to districts. In Andover and most districts, that's the first day after February break.

Andover approved its own mandate in August, before the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education pre-empted local school districts on the issue. That policy remains in place until rescinded.

"My recommendation to the School Committee is to lift the mask requirements on March 7, 2022, making masks optional in APS school buildings," Parvey said in a letter to families Friday. "The significant decrease in positive cases in recent months, the availability of vaccines for most in the community and the multiple mitigation strategies we have implemented in our schools to protect our students and staff has indicated the district’s readiness to make masks optional."

District officials also want the option to maintain the mask mandate through March 14 if cases surge following the February break.

Cases in schools have fallen dramatically and vaccination rates are high, officials said at the School Committee meeting. Every school but Shawsheen has a full vaccination rate over 60 percent, with the highest rate being 87 percent at the high school.

School Committee members discussed having a policy that would give the superintendent the authority to reimpose mask requirements at particular schools or times in response to surges.

Public commenters Thursday were overwhelmingly in favor of lifting the mask mandate, with some student speakers saying they will refuse to wear masks beginning Feb. 28 regardless of the committee's decision. But committee members also said they had received extensive communications from residents in favor of keeping the mandate in place.

Parvey encouraged members of the school community to provide feedback to schoolcommittee@andoverma.us ahead of the March 3 meeting.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.