Tewksbury School Officials Plan To Follow State On Mask Mandate

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury Public Schools Superintendent Chris Malone recommended to the School Committee Wednesday that the district follow the state and not require masks after Feb. 28.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday that the state mandate will end that day, leaving it up to local officials.

Tewksbury does not currently have its own mask policy, so the School Committee would have to take action to diverge from the state. There seemed to be no enthusiasm from district officials to do so at Wednesday's meeting.

"We have been faithfully following DESE guidelines," Malone said, referring to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. "I see no reason to veer off that at this time."

The three School Committee members present — Keith Sullivan, Shannon Demos and Bridget Garabedian — all agreed with Malone's recommendation, although Demos was emphatic that those who want to be masked should be supported.

"I think quite honestly it's been overdue," Committee Chair Keith Sullivan said.

Some districts put in place mask mandates before the state introduced its own and have never revisited them, but Tewksbury's School Committee voted to require masks for only the first 60 days of school, so the mandate has long since expired.

In response to a Facebook question from Patch, Tewksbury readers were largely in favor of letting the mask mandate end.

According to state data, 53 percent of Tewksbury residents aged 5 to 19 are fully vaccinated. Eleven percent have received a booster shot.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or [email protected].