The Mascenic School Board voted to move forward with its plan to start in-person learning four days a week on Nov. 9 during its most recent meeting, though the vote remained split three votes to two.
The Mascenic School District is currently running a hybrid model where half the student population attends school in person on Monday and Tuesday, and the other half on Thursday and Friday, with remote learning the rest of the time. During a meeting in October the School Board agreed – again in a 3-2 vote – to begin a four-day-per-week model starting next week.
During its meeting Monday, School Board member Michael Pellerito, who was one of the members who originally voted against the plan, asked the board to consider holding off on returning four days a week until the start of the third quarter, pointing to rising coronavirus cases both nationally, statewide and locally.
“Since we voted four weeks ago, the data has gotten worse, and it’s hitting home in Greenville and New Ipswich,” Pellerito said. “With surges all around us, why would we not take the course of safety?”
The State Department of Health and Human Services is currently reporting 1,407 active COVID-19 cases in the state, and 41 hospitalizations. About 12 percent of those cases are people under the age of 19. As of Nov. 2, there were seven active cases reported in New Ipswich.
Pellerito pointed to a large party which was held over the Halloween weekend, which students of Mascenic attended, and said that opening schools for more days was a goal that would require everyone to work together to make happen.
Mascenic Superintendent Chris Martin said the district was aware that some students had attended the party and had been in contact with the state Department of Health and Human Services about how to proceed in the wake of it. On their advice, the district was prepared to closely monitor symptom tracing, she said.
Some parents attending the meeting via call-in also asked the board to wait.
Meryl Higgens of New Ipswich said she was “deeply concerned” about sending children back for four days.
Alicia Hall Of New Ipswich said the priority for children had to be safety. “If COVID happens to one person, it happens to all of us. We’re not an island,” she said.
Emily Krook of New Ipswich took the opposite viewpoint, and asked the board not reconsider their decision for more in person learning time. She said her family has not adapted well to a remote learning structure, academically.
“We’re really struggling and we need more in-person time,” Krook said.
The board did not shift from its original votes on the issue, with Pellerito and Chair Steve Spratt voting to wait to implement a four-day structure, and Vice Chair Rachel Anderson and members Tom Falter and Julie Lampinen voting against waiting, and to move forward with implementing four days of in-person schooling on Nov. 9 as planned.
Spratt said the current trend of increased cases is “the opposite” of what he was hoping to see when the board originally made its decision, and he was concerned with the rising number of cases and hospitalizations in the state.
Lampinen said she voted the way she had because she wanted to provide the best options for all students.
“I get the concerns by all parents. It’s not perfect for any of us,” Lampinen said. She said those that don’t feel comfortable sending their children to school four days a week would still have a fully-remote option.
Falter said that although positive test results are rising in the state, New Hampshire is still well situated, noting that the state has among the lowest positive test rates in the nation.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.