School Committee Chair: 'Happy To Have State Support' On Masks

WOBURN, MA — The Woburn School Committee chair said she was happy to have state support on the committee's recent decision to open the school year with a mask mandate, although it would have been easier if the state had acted sooner.

The School Committee voted Aug. 17 to mandate indoor masks for all students and staff for the beginning of the year, in the face of significant public controversy. A week later, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education authorized a statewide school mask mandate.

Prior to the education commissioner calling for the vote, Gov. Charlie Baker had resisted calls to set masking rules for local public schools, leaving the decision to school committees.

"It would have been easier and smoother if the School Committee and our Superintendent had the unifying force and clarity of a state regulation while we considered this highly-debated, community-dividing topic squarely left on our shoulders," School Committee Chair Ellen Crowley said.

After hearing dozens of spoken and written comments both for and against, the committee voted unanimously to put in place a mandate. The Board of Health, the mayor and the superintendent all recommended the policy.

The district mandate extends through Oct. 31.

"Woburn Public Schools rose to the challenge with compassion and transparency and I'm proud of the decision to mandate masks," Crowley said. "The DESE regulations recently adopted will help reinforce our commitment to community safety. We are happy to have the state support."

DESE's new guidance is designed to have standard rules across the state and mandates masks through Oct. 1 with districts then having the option to lift those mandates if 80 percent of students and staff at a particular school become vaccinated against the coronavirus.

"The purpose of the policy is to encourage higher vaccination rates among students and staff and to implement a uniform policy for all schools to begin the year," the commissioner's office said in a statement requesting the authorization vote on Friday.

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