What Lifting East Greenwich School Mask Mandate Might Look Like

EAST GREENWICH, RI — In a school committee meeting Tuesday that lasted about five hours, Superintendent Alexis Meyers presented what lifting East Greenwich Public Schools' mask mandate could look.

Meyers said, after speaking to school nurses and local health experts, she believes masks can become optional in schools when Gov. Dan McKee lifts the mandate on March 4.

Still, the school committee did not vote on ending the mandate. School Committee Chair Anne Musella said the meeting was intended to lay out a policy draft and then revisit at the March 1 meeting, once the district gets more guidance from the Rhode Island Department of Health on things like masking protocols after isolation.

"We intentionally put a first reading of this policy [on the agenda]," Musella said in an interview with Patch. "This gives us the opportunity to have a second reading before the state policy expires."

Meyers said East Greenwich's high vaccination rate and the availability of treatments puts the school district in a place where it can allow students and staffs to remove their masks.

"We're understanding we're in a different phase of the virus," Meyers said. "We have so many more tools, and it provides an opportunity."

Under the proposal, Meyers would have the power to re-instate the mask mandate in the event of an outbreak or new variant. Meyers said this decision would be made with guidance from school nurses and local health experts.

"We will always rely on those experts that bring that information to us and help us inform our thinking," Meyers said.

This part of the proposal drew some controversy. Some members of the school committee and parents expressed concerns about Meyers having the authority to re-institute a mandate, rather than the school committee having that power.

"I think it's better to share that burden and have as many people work through it as they can and come to the most reasonable decision," committee Vice Chair Alyson Powell said.

Meyers said she's happy to share the responsibility, but thinks giving herself this authority better protects students. She said it allows her to act faster if there was an incident like an outbreak in a classroom.

Town Counsel Audrey Lombardo agreed and said the policy is consistent with what other school districts are doing.

"I worry about the time restrictions," Lombardo said. "I think this is a really special circumstance, and there are a number of effects not having a policy like this in place could affect students."

Parent reactions

Opinions from parents speaking during public comment varied — though most supported ending the mask mandate.

"We're masking our kids from 8 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. five days a week," parent Jill Spitzer said, while kids in most other places. "We're sending them a confusing message.

Some parents like Mohsin Malik, who works as a physician, said he thinks it's too early to lift the mandate.

"The therapeutics are not really approved for kids," Malik said. "Those are mostly for adults. "Masking is helpful when everyone masks. Really, the protection is when everyone is masked as well."

Several parents also voiced frustration with the mandate being one of the last agenda items during a five-hour meeting.

Parent Jaclyn Ayatt said her daughter wanted to speak during the meeting, but because masking was discussed so late, she couldn't stay up. Spitzer said parents shouldn't have had to wait so long to voice their concerns.

"The parents and kids of this town deserve better and deserve your attention," Spitzer said.

In an interview with Patch, Musella said the meeting's schedule was not designed to make parents wait. Large budget items had been scheduled since December, and if the mask mandate was moved up, school principals likely wouldn't have been able to present their budgets until 10 p.m.

"I can appreciate that it's frustrating," Musella said. It's difficult, for sure. It's a highly emotional time."