After an hour-long public participation dominated by concerns around students wearing masks, the Board of Education at its February 15 meeting supported the superintendent in planning changes to COVID-19 mitigation protocols, including having masks optional in schools starting February 28.

Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue said the meeting’s discussion marked the start of “our path forward.”

Rodrigue shared a presentation highlighting the district’s timeline with the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020, when schools were closed to students. By August of that year students returned to schools with a hybrid model involving remote learning. Students returned in full to schools for January 2021 with employment of restrictions and state mandates.

Vaccine clinics for staff followed by clinics for students began in March 2021. In December 2021 the district implemented screen and stay and no contact tracing procedures.

Then, as previously reported in The Newtown Bee, Governor Ned Lamont held a press briefing on February 7 with Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr Manisha Juthani and Connecticut State Department of Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker to announce their decision to end a statewide mask mandate on February 28, when the governor will allow the decision to enforce mask mandates in schools to be determined by local school districts (see related story).

Other mitigation strategies will still be implemented in Newtown, and Rodrigue said masks will be required on school buses, due to federal guidance.

The presentation shared the superintendent’s recommendation of “Given the freedom for districts to determine the path forward regarding masks, the recommendation is for students and staff to be given the option to continue to wear protective face coverings [masks] or to choose not to wear masks. Masks on buses are determined by federal guidance, and all students will need to wear masks to and from school if riding public transportation, until that is changed.”

The presentation highlighted continued protocols including facilitating a deliberate dialogue with students about choice and personal responsibility; continuing requirement for masks on buses; providing N95 masks for staff, and home test kits for staff, students, and families; offering access to testing in schools for students through a sign up; continuing other mitigation strategies; using air purifiers in classrooms; ongoing mask breaks if needed; providing access to local clinics for vaccination and boosters through community partners; encouraging ongoing self-monitoring of illness and staying home from school; continuing current protocols regarding quarantining; continuing to update the district’s online dashboard with recorded cases; and monitoring cases and trends in consultation with the local health director and State Department of Health.

According to discussion at the meeting, Rodrigue’s plan includes working with students and families ahead of February 28 to announce details of changes.

After discussion, the school board unanimously voted to suspend its face masks/coverings policy until the board may review and approve amendments, a motion that supported Rodrigue’s plan and makes wearing masks in schools as of February 28 optional.

BOE Members Respond

Following the meeting, Board of Education Chair Deborra Zukowski said she spoke to a concern of bullying being an issue around students choosing whether to wear or not wear a mask at the meeting. She also stressed academic delivery of instruction is important, and when students are not in school buildings there is learning loss.

Zukowski assessed the current safety risk with that in mind. With vaccinations, which Zukowski said put a limit on the severity of reaction to COVID-19 for most people, her risk assessment tipped in favor of supporting masks as optional.

The school board chair said the district and the board will be watching health metrics closely to assess safety with school district administrators and the local health department. A masking mandate and other mitigation mandates could happen again, depending on those metrics.

Also following the meeting, school board member Janet Kuzma shared a statement she prepared for the meeting and partially read. It reads in part, “We know that COVID still exists and that there are some who will still be at a greater risk than others, which is why I am glad we are discussing choice vs full removal. Everyone — staff, students, and teachers — feel comfortable continuing to wear a mask if they choose. But as a parent who has been advocating for parent choice for almost a year now, I am happy to see that we are finally in a place where we can start allowing parents to do what they feel is best.”

Kuzma thanked those who reached out on the topic.

Her statement later reads, “Unfortunately, as we heard today, this has not come without harm to our children. While we know some students were fine with masks, we know others weren’t. Mixed messages have been sent to our youngest learners, causing confusion and anxiety.

“I feel this decision is past due so I’m glad to hear that we are going to lift this mandate as soon as the state allows. This will allow students and staff the opportunity to continue to mask, or not to mask, and ultimately getting back to providing the best educational experience for all of Newtown’s children.”

Letter From Rodrigue

By the afternoon of February 16, Rodrigue released an announcement to school district staff and parents/guardians. Her letter follows in full.

Dear Staff and Parents/Guardians,

I write to update you briefly on our path forward related to COVID and masking that was discussed at last night’s Board of Education meeting. The board voted unanimously to suspend its policy on face coverings/masks. The final motion read: “Move that the Board of Education approve the suspension of Policy 4118.237/4218.237/5141.8 Face Masks/Coverings until such time as the Board reviews and approves an amendment to the policy.” This will allow masks to become a personal choice by staff and students beginning February 28, 2022 when the Executive Order mandating masks ends.

(Rodrigue attached her presentation to the announcement.)

Just to reiterate, we heard many individual opinions on mitigation strategies in our schools, including masking, and we want to thank those who reached out to share thoughts and express individual concerns on this topic. We certainly listened and understood the myriad of varying issues, and we crafted very specific practices that we will develop or maintain as a result.

Some highlights of the meeting included the following points:

*Students must continue to wear masks on all buses (both to and from school) based on the federal regulation on public transportation.

*No changes will be made at this time in spacing or the addition of lunch waves (providing further distancing) from the beginning of the year.

*The distribution of N95 masks and home test kits will continue as requested by staff and families. The DPH has continued to recommend testing as a key strategy in slowing the spread of COVID.

*Project COVID DeteCT testing will be offered to parents for weekly testing of their children through a State partnership (optional), and a letter was recently sent out by Anne Dalton for parent permission/sign up.

*Cleaning and sanitization of bathrooms will continue during the school day.

*Air purifiers in classrooms of buildings (without HVAC) will remain.

*Continue to maintain the District’s COVID Dashboard to monitor trends in our schools.

*Revisions will be made to our Return to School Plan, which originally outlined a mask optional provision, including new language that addresses the response to any State of CT guidance in the future: The superintendent will continue to report health trends to the Board of Education during their regular meetings. While masking will no longer be mandatory at this time, the district will continue to employ other mitigation strategies in the schools and outlined in the Return to School Plan. The superintendent will continue to consult with the local health director and the district’s health and wellness coordinator to monitor COVID-19 trends, as well as respond to State guidance, and may need to consider temporary changes to mitigation strategies, which may include a return to masking for a clearly defined period of time.

Most importantly, we will be arranging for staff and leaders to have meaningful conversations with students and families regarding mask choice and personal responsibility. The administrative team is meeting on Friday to develop clear and specific plans for these conversations to occur, both at school and at home. Following that meeting, we will send further information that should be shared with children at home.

The Public Health Commissioner maintains her authority to make any future amendments regarding the requirement of masks. Please know that we will continue to monitor any trends that warrant discussion or changes to our plans in the future.

If you should have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

In other news, during a special meeting February 11, the school board voted to hire New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to oversee the superintendent search with Rodrigue set to retire at the end of this school year.

Coverage of the school district’s monthly financial report will be presented in the February 25 print edition of The Newtown Bee.

Education Reporter Eliza Hallabeck can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.