The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in person on Thursday, September 9. Silver Lake Regional High School Principal Michaela Gill introduced senior Riley Doyle. Doyle is the Student Council Executive Board President, and one of the seniors on the Student Advisory to the School Committee. The other senior is Callie MacInnis. Other members of the Student Advisory Board include junior Mia Mitchell and sophomores Connor Doyle and Nikhil Harish. The seniors will attend the School Committee meetings. “We’re delighted to have their voice and their experience at the table with us,” Gill said.

Gill presented her Principal’s Report to the Committee telling them that this year’s theme for the staff and students is “Lakers to the Core”. She said that the phrase will appear throughout the building as well as on social media with that hashtag. Gill said she hopes to “remind folks what it really means to be a true Laker.”

There are several new staff members at the school. Lori Cullen joins the math department as a computer science teacher, Laura Mackey is a new biology teacher, Beth Fradet is a new art teacher who will also act as the yearbook advisor, Laura Olsen is a new French teacher, Colin Foley is a new social studies teacher and freshman soccer coach, Craig Murray is a new physics teacher, Silver Lake alumna Jessica Guilford is a member of the office staff, Silver Lake alum Jamie Jones is a new preschool paraprofessional, Kelly Griffin joins the English Department, Dan Richards will serve as a long-term substitute, and Suzanne Simmons will serve as a paraprofessional.

Gill said that Amy Woods will serve as the new PTO President. She also said that Spirit and Homecoming are coming up. Additionally, Gill said there were several dress-up days on the calendar and noted that they were returning to their pep rallies. “We’re thrilled to be back to as much normal as possible,” Gill said. Gill also said that parent teacher conferences will be offered as a choice of either in-person or remote. Gill also provided an update on the dual enrollment program saying that over the summer they did have a student take several courses through that program.

Silver Lake Regional Middle School Principal Jim Dupille also provided a Principal’s Report saying, “There’s definitely some normalcy to the starting of the year which was really good to see; the students in the classroom – the excitement and energy,” he told the Committee.

Dupille said that the Summer Enhancement Camp that was run in July was highly successful. This year’s camp included a social and emotional component. He said that attendance rates were high with more than 20 incoming seventh and eight graders attending. He also noted that they had successful professional development programs over the summer. The open house held in August included more than 400 people. A motivational speaker came to meet with students at the school that day. Dupille said that his message to students was to connect to their passions.

The Back-to-School night will be held on Thursday, September 23. Parents and guardians will begin the night in the auditorium speaking with Dupille. The Welcome Back Cookout and Karaoke night will be on Friday, September 24. Dupille said the Haunted Halls will also be coming back with tours in October. He noted that there are a myriad of clubs and activities that will be making a return this year.

During Director of Business Services Christine Healy’s financial update, Committee member Summer Schmaling asked what would happen to the Silver Lake budget if Halifax doesn’t get a quorum at their next town meeting. “At Halifax’s town meeting, the Finance Committee supported a number that was less than what was going to support our budget; they supported a 2 percent increase and their assessment went up more than that… so at town meeting they voted a number that does not support the full commitment that they would need to make for their assessment for the year,” Healy explained. Healy said that if the town does not have a quorum on Sept. 21, the town plans to address it within the annual town meeting. Other Committee members clarified that the town would have to “fall into line” so to speak as the other two towns force them into that position with their votes.

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch also provided an update saying that on August 31 there was a professional development event focused on social and emotional learning for the district’s paraprofessionals. He thanked the Middle School PTO and High School Yearbook Committee for providing breakfast treats for the opening day.

Lynch also provided grant updates saying they were approved for their ESSER II submission. He said the allotment for Silver Lake is $250,589. “The focus for that grant is unfinished teaching and learning – social and emotional supports and operations,” Lynch said. He said they are working with teachers and administrators on where to best allocate the funds based on the needs of students. Lynch also said that they are looking to line up ESSER III which is due in October.

Superintendent Jill Proulx provided an update to the Committee. On September 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., a vaccination clinic will be held at the Kingston Intermediate School in collaboration with the Kingston Board of Health for residents from Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton who wish to be vaccinated. Proulx provided data from the Nutritional Director regarding summer meals saying that from June 23 to August 18, meal bundles including five breakfasts and five lunches, were distributed on Wednesdays. In total, they served 25,998 meals.

Proulx also provided a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) update. She noted that as of August 25 they have mandated masks indoors for all K-12 public schools. “The State is using vaccines as the primary mitigation measure,” Proulx said. She said they were being encouraged to host vaccination clinics. There are plans through November to hold several more vaccination clinics at the Kingston Intermediate School. Proulx said that unlike last year there are no social distancing requirements. She said that they have signed up to be a part of the test and stay program that would allow asymptomatic close contacts to remain in school while being tested daily for a determined amount of time from exposure. She said they had just received their first set of tests that day and said that there was some delay in securing a program testing coordinator. Parents will receive the opportunity to opt into that program.

Proulx said that close contacts are those within 6 ft of a COVID positive individual for 15 minutes or more indoors during a 24-hour period. She noted that certain exemptions apply including those who are asymptomatic and fully vaccinated. Other exemptions include if both individuals were masked and three feet apart as well as those that were masked on buses with open windows. Finally, those that were diagnosed with COVID in the last 90 days but are currently asymptomatic are also exempt. Proulx said that masking would likely be in place until a school reaches a certain vaccination percentage – likely 80 percent.

Proulx shared with the Committee the vaccination percentages for each community in the district. She said the first number would be the vaccination rate for 12–15-year-olds and the second number would be for 16–19-year-olds. As of late August, Halifax stood at 57 and 59 percent, Kingston at 63 and 84, and Plympton 65 percent and 71 percent. Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee said she would like to see the Committee receive aggregate numbers of the percentage of Silver Lake Regional students and staff that are vaccinated between now and October. Proulx said she would need to speak with the nurse leader about how accessible that information would be to the district.

Committee Chair Jason Fraser spoke saying while DESE and DPH are working on a way to facilitate an easy way to identify school vaccination rates, their current priorities lay elsewhere including the test and stay program. Fraser said that there have already been 30 school districts in Massachusetts that have had to quarantine entire classrooms or school buildings. Fraser said that while the 80 percent vaccination rate is the metric being focused on at the moment as it is quantifiable, if the incidences of COVID in Massachusetts were to reduce greatly, that metric would likely change. He further said that currently there are nine states and the District of Columbia that have mandated vaccines for all school staff at the state level and said that he expects Massachusetts to be next. Fraser said that some school committees have mandated vaccines for school staff and even for some school activities.

“As you may have noticed, Commissioner Riley came very late to the game in the masking of our students; it’s because he’s very concerned about many of the same issues that a lot of parents and a lot of you have expressed at this table,” Fraser said.

The School Committee also considered whether or not to rescind their current masking policy. One of the ramifications of doing that would mean that students under 5 would no longer be required to wear a mask but would be strongly recommended. McGee said that she would be voting against rescinding the policy because it takes away local control to make decisions as it would then mean strictly following DESE and DPH guidance. Committee member Emily Davis said that she didn’t feel comfortable going past the mandates by DESE and DPH and said she would be fully in favor of rescinding the policy. The Committee ended up voting in favor of rescinding the policy by a divided vote.

Proulx provided some non-COVID related updates including that they would be hosting a capital planning meeting on September 30. She said that many community stakeholders would be invited to attend.

Fraser provided the legislative report. He said that in December of 2020, the legislature released a report from the special committee for improving efficiency relative to student transportation. Fraser said that he had previously told the Committee that regional transportation funding was in jeopardy. He verified with Healy that Silver Lake Regional receives about $590,000 in state reimbursement for transportation aid. He said that towns like Plymouth that have an extraordinary number of miles that need to be traveled each day are wondering why regionalized districts get reimbursement funding and they don’t. He said that the report that was passed onto the legislature suggested that they look at the needs of the region including low-income students and also the distance traveled each day. He said that compared to other regions, their communities come out looking “rich” despite not feeling it. He said that another item in the report that might have budgetary implications for Silver Lake was their “greening the fleet” proposal that would see them move toward all electric or hybrid buses. Fraser promised to let the School Committee know if he saw movement on any of these measures.

Fraser also said that at the Federal level, there was a House bill being considered under reconciliation that includes several hundred million dollars for universal pre-k, community college, school safety upgrades, etc. Fraser said that these were all areas that have seen erosion in recent years. “This would put us back to whole and beyond whole, hopefully.”

The Halifax Elementary School Committee met on Monday, August 30. The meeting began at the elementary school but was moved across the street to the Town Hall after several meeting participants refused to put on masks and the Superintendent and other school administrators had to leave to avoid being in violation of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) mask mandate. Halifax does not mandate masks in public buildings hence the location change. School Committee member Lauren Laws chose to join the meeting remotely after the move.

Chair Summer Schmaling began the meeting by opening it to public participation. Ashley Gregor of Middleborough took the opportunity to speak. Gregor began, “I’m here because I strongly oppose the masks.” She continued, “I think in the long run this is really going to psychologically affect the kids. They don’t understand, they went all summer without masks now they’re going to step back into the school system and have to put a mask on… I’m sad that there’s not a lot of Halifax parents here tonight. I think that you guys need to be brave and you need to stand up… there’s a big home-schooling community in Halifax; there’s a lot of people that will support you and stand up for you and this isn’t right and I’m just here to stand and say this isn’t right – no masks for the kids.”

Another parent took to the microphone to quote from the Holocaust documentary The Last Days. She read, “People wonder how is it that we didn’t do something. We didn’t run away, we didn’t hide. Well, things didn’t happen at once. Things happened very slowly so each time a new law came out or a new restriction, we said well, just another thing – it will blow over. When we had to wear the yellow star to be outside, we started to worry.” Using her own words, she then asked the School Committee, “sound familiar?” Another woman took to the microphone saying, “I just want to say, my grandchild is in the public schools and I will not allow him to be muzzled because that’s exactly what this is and it is a health risk.” She continued, “It increases your chance of getting sick. The viruses fit through the mask itself so you’re only increasing the risk of getting sick – you’re going to notice a spike in the children getting sick this year. Why? Because of the muzzle.”

Schmaling then addressed those gathered saying, “I just want to make one statement and I want to be very clear as to why we’re sitting in this room right now. I do not agree with masking our children at all and I’ve been very, very outspoken about it.” She pointed out that the School Committee had agreed to rescind the previous year’s masking policy prior to the DESE mandate. She continued, “I was not aware that by holding the meeting in the Elementary School tonight that it would put the license in jeopardy of my Superintendent, my Assistant Superintendent, my Principal, and my Assistant Principal… I agree with a lot of what was said here tonight, and I want you to know that I will continue to fight for our kids.” She said she believed it to be an overreach of DESE and the Education Commissioner to mandate masks. Finally, she said that her reasoning for moving the meeting was to include the administrators and conduct all necessary business.

Halifax Elementary School Principal Kayne Beaudry gave an update on the staff meeting that he described as “a good vibe, good energy, lots of positivity there.” Beaudry thanked the custodians for all their hard work over the summer getting the classrooms set for the school year. “We can’t thank them enough for everything that they did,” he said. He also thanked the office staff for their work over the summer. “There’s a lot that goes into it behind the scenes; I don’t think that people realize it,” he explained. Regarding enrollment he said that it had been in flux right up to the first day. As of that day, the number stood at 564 students. There were four new staff members including a sixth-grade teacher and a new kindergarten teacher. He said there are still two open positions in the school. Beaudry also told the Committee that there are fans and air purifiers in every classroom.

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch provided some grant updates saying that they closed out their ESSER 1 grant that was established as part of the Education Stabilization Fund in the CARES Act. Lynch said they had successfully applied for ESSER 2 that allots $106,000 to Halifax for the next year or so with the aim being to support missed teaching and learning opportunities. He said they were looking for input from teachers and staff regarding supports needed by students. Lynch also said that the school was granted a wellness coach by DESE.

Superintendent Jill Proulx touched upon the welcome back day for all staff noting that it was the first time that not only all faculty, but all staff was invited to the meeting. “The focus was on celebrating the efforts of those staff members and faculty members who came together to try to recreate the way that we teach and learn to the best of our ability,” Proulx said.

Proulx provided an update on guidance from DESE and the Department of Public Health (DPH). She reminded everyone that remote learning would no longer be recognized by the State, unlike last year. Proulx said that earlier that week, DESE had granted Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley authority to mandate masks for all public K-12 students through at least October 1. After October 1, the mask mandate may potentially be lifted for all vaccinated students and staff if the school meets a certain vaccination rate. Proulx said she was told that rate would be eighty percent. Proulx said they anticipate hosting vaccination clinics at the Kingston Intermediate School in September.

Proulx told the Committee that there are no social distancing requirements this school year. She also said that there will be a test and stay program implemented. “If you are a close contact, you would have the option to stay in school and be tested daily… as long as you are asymptomatic,” she explained. Schmaling asked if a parent opted out of the free testing, would they then have to quarantine. Proulx said they would have to quarantine for seven days from the date of exposure. Students would be sent work that they can complete at home. Proulx read, “close contacts are defined as individuals who have been within six feet of a COVID 19 positive individual while indoors for at least 15 minutes during a 24-hour period.” Individuals who are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic are exempt from testing and quarantine. Other exemptions include asymptomatic individuals who were exposed but masked and three feet apart as well as those on buses that were masked while windows were open. Another exception is for asymptomatic individuals who are exposed within 90 days of their own positive COVID test.

A member of the School Committee asked what would happen if a student without a viable exception refused to wear a mask. Beaudry said that they would likely have a conversation with the school nurse and himself and if the behavior continued the caregivers would have to become involved. “Hopefully at that point we would come to the conclusion that it’s a State mandate,” he said. Schmaling said, “I personally feel very strongly, I don’t know how the rest of the Committee feels, that if anyone is going to have a conversation with my child, who is a minor, regarding their health or their opinion on something and it’s pertaining to anything medical, I need to be present as a parent so I think that we should, perhaps, entertain a policy.” She went on to say that the policy would stipulate that if any staff members are to have conversations regarding masks, vaccines, etc. that a parent needs to be present.

Committee member Gordon Andrews argued that wearing a mask is a requirement to be in the building and not a medical issue. He argued that anyone in violation of that requirement would have to go through the chain of command, beginning with the teacher and ending with the Superintendent if still not in compliance. Schmaling disagreed vehemently and said, “I do not think that our least vulnerable population should ever be masked; it’s a hindrance to their learning and their education. They’re not effective, they’re not health measures; these cloth masks do nothing for anybody but make their kid have a bacteria filled wet rag on their face all day.” Committee member Lauren Laws who was zooming into the meeting argued that transmission in schools was negligible last year due to the mask wearing. Schmaling loudly countered, “That’s not true. That’s not true. You’re just making things up! You’re making up talking points and it’s not true.” Laws said, “We did not have a lot of transmission in school, that’s a fact.”

Committee member James Keegan steered the conversation back in the direction of whether a policy should be put in place requiring caregivers to be present for conversations regarding mask violations. He said that if those conversations were to take place absent a caregiver, they should not include discussions on health. “I want to make sure that teachers and staff in the school who may have very strong opinions one way or another, do not bring those opinions into the classroom,” Keegan said.

Schmaling brought up an incident in a classroom where she says a teacher asked the students to raise their hands if vaccinated calling it “highly inappropriate.” Laws pointed out that the students at the elementary school are not even yet eligible to be vaccinated. Schmaling raised her voice crying, “thank God for that.” She told Beaudry, “I am like full on Momma bear mode with this issue – full on and I will be pissed if my kid comes home and tells me that they got cornered and felt intimidated, coerced, bullied, discriminated against.” Regarding teacher and administration intervention, Laws said, “if they are enforcing a policy, that is all we are talking about.” Keegan was very adamant that he does not want to see any teachers or staff harassing students. Schmaling claimed to know of a Halifax Elementary School teacher who has been vocal about how she would handle disciplining a child not wearing a mask. Keegan asked if there would be progressive discipline for a staff member who was handling the situation inappropriately.

Keegan appeared confused as to whether the School Committee could lift the mask mandate for their school despite the DESE requirement. Silver Lake’s attorney corrected him and said that option only existed prior to the DESE mandate. Fellow committee member Jennifer Carroll expressed her disapproval of the mask mandate. She said that students would be confused as to why they were allowed not to wear a mask at various venues over the summer only to be told they must wear one while in school. Laws countered that things have changed in the last several weeks citing the more contagious nature of the more dominant Delta variant as one of the things that has changed. Laws said her own family is all fully vaccinated but said they went from not wearing masks to wearing masks indoors again. “Looking at how things have changed and that there is more spread again, I truly believe this is what will keep our kids in school,” Laws said. Schmaling asked Laws sarcastically, “Could you please send me some information on where you’re finding these magic masks that are FDA approved because I can’t find them anywhere. I even looked in my lab; I work in a virology/genetics lab.”  Laws then asked Schmaling why she believed masks were being mandated. Schmaling said, “Because it’s a virtue signal.” Both Keegan and Schmaling then said, “We know why.” Schmaling continued, “That’s silly to even ask that question” to which Laws pressed her to further explain her reasoning. She did not. Carroll then interjected saying that the masks being worn clearly state that they will not protect you against viruses. Carroll said that if masks are being mandated, they should be proper masks and Schmaling added that they would also need goggles and a hazmat suit.

Schmaling also suggested that the School Committee send a letter to the State asking that the power to mandate masks be placed back under local control. Laws asked the attorney if it would have to be signed by everyone and was told it would not but that the letter would be sent if the majority of the Committee voted in favor of it.