Walpole High School Reaches 80% Vaccination Threshold

WALPOLE, MA - The Walpole School Committee voted 4-1-1 at its meeting Thursday to allow Superintendent Bridget Gough to apply for a waiver from the mandatory mask policy for Walpole High School from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) because the school has reached the 80% vaccination threshold.

Gough explained that the high school's vaccination rate is 80.7 %, which makes it eligible to apply for the mandatory mask policy waiver. DESE previously implemented an indoor mask mandate for students and staff in school buildings that will last until at least Jan. 15, when it will be reviewed.

She noted that the students at the high school are at 79.5 percent, while the staff members are at 85.8 percent, boosting the school above the 80% threshold.

"If or when DESE gives the approval for Walpole High School, then at the following meeting, the School Committee would continue to determine if you wish to go mask optional at every given date."

She added that DESE has received 23 waiver requests at that point and approved 13.

While some schools that were approved have decided to go mask optional, others including Westwood High School have chosen not to implement the mask optional policy for vaccinated individuals yet.

Hopkinton High School just completed a three-week trial period where mask use was optional for vaccinated students. The school's vaccination rate is 98%, with about 95% of the town's population ages 12 and above having received vaccinations. Hopkinton required proof of vaccination as well as parental consent for students to be allowed to go unmasked.

"We do need down the line to think about the logistics of implementation," Gough continued. She noted that it would be difficult to monitor who would be allowed to go unmasked.

There has been a spike in cases recently. She reported, with nine cases reported the week prior to the meeting, up from three the previous week. Last week, there were 13 cases, the highest during a week this year. To date, there have been 69 cases, compared to 23 the previous year.

One concerning factor is that the positivity rate in Walpole also is climbing. At the time of the meeting, the Board of Health reported that the rate was 3.45 percent, putting the community at the highest level of risk. The Health Department recommended holding back on implementing the unmasking policy until at least January.

Gough stressed that getting the waiver does not mean that it has to be implemented immediately.

"It's just that we have it in our pockets," she said.

"I don't want to give a message that we're ready to move forward," said member Nancy Gallivan, who voted against the motion requesting the waiver. "This is just my opinion because I'm not ready to move forward."

Gough said that the waiver could be approved "within days" of a request. She will be meeting with DESE officials this week on Zoom.

Nurse leader Kathi Garvin said she expected to see the numbers of positive cases rise after Thanksgiving and then again after the holiday break, as they did last year.

Chair Bill Buckley said that, while the decision is under the School Committee's purview, the information from the Health Department should "be given a fair amount of weight" when considering options.

Gough called the Health Department "nothing but cooperative" in making decisions to keep classrooms open and determining what constitutes a cluster of cases.

Buckley said he would prefer to look at more data before implementing the mask optional policy, but that it could be applied for at this time.

She also said the "Test and Stay" has been effective in keeping exposed students in school as long as they test negative.

"It's unfortunate that DESE has tied these numbers to vaccinations," said member Sean Ahern. "I think that's a motivation for some of the students especially to get a vaccination.

"I think it's very prudent to hold off," he continued, "especially now when we have Thanksgiving and based on last year's trends to be very cautious about when we are actually able to implement it if the waiver is granted. "

Gough added that some towns have added other metrics to their policy, such as the town's positivity rate.

She also noted that the vaccination rate at the Bird Middle School currently is 48.5%, while the Johnson Middle School's vaccination rate is 47.4%. Gough said she expected these numbers to rise now that the shot is available to those ages 5-11.

The School Committee will revisit the policy decision at its next meeting on Dec. 9.