HAMDEN, Conn. — The Hamden Board of Education convened on Zoom for a special meeting Monday evening to discuss whether or not to continue to require mask-wearing in schools.
In that meeting, the Board voted 5-3 to reinstate the school mask mandate.
Board members hope to discuss the mandate again at the next BOE meeting on March 8.
The Board is also working to coordinate more COVID vaccine clinics for Hamden school students.
Around 300 people attended to listen in on the virtual BOE meeting.
Board Chair Melissa Kaplan said during the meeting she supports reinstating the mask mandate for a number of reasons, including the fact that toddlers and infants can't get vaccinated and also pointing to studies that masks help reduce COVID incidents.
Board Member Austin Cesare expressed opposition to reinstating the mandate, saying, “I just feel that’s an unnecessary burden for our teachers to enforce something like that.” He pointed to data from Governor Lamont that said 85 percent of schools have decided to end the mask mandate.
Ultimately, the move to reinstate the mandate passed with five board members in favor and three opposed.
Hamden parents and students rallied outside of the board's central office Monday night in favor of mask choice.
“I am opposed to my kid having to wear a mask. I am opposed to my child being forced to wear a mask," Michael Selearis, a Hamden parent and New Haven teacher said.
As of Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont's state-wide mandate requiring masks in schools has expired. It is now up to local school districts to make that choice.
"If they decide not to have masks required, it doesn’t matter to me," said Amanda Vazquez, a Hamden High School student.
But Vazquez said she still plans to mask up, no matter what the higher ups would have chosen to do.
"Because I feel like it’s safer that way for everyone else and me," Vazquez said.
Other students FOX61 spoke to are also feeling indifferent.
“I mean, it’s just normal at this point," said Katie Dolan, a student at Hamden High School. "Just let people do what they feel comfortable with."
In the meantime, another Hamden student, this time on the elementary level, has started a petition in favor of lifting the mandate. That student planned a rally for Monday night in front of the Board of Education on 60 Putnam Avenue.
In the petition, 10-year-old Alexios Selearis wrote, "Being masked is taking away from our individuality. It makes it seem like we are all the same, like we are blank faces. I want to be free and I want to be me. Not the me the president wants me to be, not the me the governor or mayor wants me to be and not the me my principals, teachers, or parents want me to be. I want to be the ME that I want to be."
So far, more than 600 people have signed that petition. FOX61 reached out to the spokesperson for that petition but did not hear back.
However, there's a petition created by pro-mask parents, in favor of keeping masks in schools.
"I think we all share the goal that we want to have our kids not have to wear masks anymore. It's inconvenient, it's uncomfortable for a lot of kids. I think the concerns are that we still see our medical experts saying that it's not yet quite safe," said Sarah Dunn, a Hamden parent and healthcare worker who helped create the parent petition.
Dunn said her kids have had complaints about the masks, as many do, but they understand the benefit for the greater good of keeping them on, at least for a little longer.
"We understand that some students can't wear masks because of medical issues or need special considerations. And that makes it all the more important for people who can wear masks to do so," Dunn said.
This is all coming on the heels of Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett lifting the town-wide indoor mask mandate on Friday.
"Right now, our level of infection is much better. We are much improved over what was going on in January, where we has 700 cases per 100,000 residents," Garrett said. "We're now at 12.7, I believe, cases per 100,000 residents and we're in the orange zone, which means that masks are more optional in indoor public spaces."
But Garrett said when it comes to kids, there is a much different vaccination rate and decision-making process.
"With our school-aged children, we have vaccination rates at about 37.7% for 5 to 11 year old's which is unfortunately really low," Garrett said. "So our school population is more at risk with those low vaccination numbers.
Garrett said she's been in talks with the board of education and the superintendent, and many had been leaning toward keeping the mandate in place for now.
"But it's something that we're going to continue to evaluate as hopefully, our vaccination rates increase and our community risk decreases," Garrett said.
But who's involved in this decision?
"We're speaking with Quinnipiack Valley Health District and Cornell Scott-Hill Health. They're consulting with us and keeping us apprised of CDC guidelines and guidelines set by the Connecticut Department of Public Health," Garrett said.
The board invited parents to submit their thoughts, and those posts were shared with the public and considered by the board before they convened.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Elisha Machado is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at emachado@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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