Littleton School Committee Votes to Request Unconditional Mask Waiver From Board of Health

LITTLETON — January 27, 2022 — Littleton School Committee votes unanimously to request unconditional mask waiver for public schools. The committee approved a motion Thursday asking the town's Board of Health to exempt Littleton High School and Littleton Middle School from the townwide mask mandate, with elementary schools to follow once their DESE vaccination attestations — requiring 80 percent coverage — are received. Member Justin McCarthy led the push for a condition-free request, arguing the School Committee is better positioned than the Board of Health to track DESE's shifting guidance. Member Brad Austin and Student Representative Stella Austin raised concerns about removing all mitigation layers while the town still recorded 219 COVID-19 cases in the two weeks ending January 22, and while the middle school was seeing elevated case counts. The committee acknowledged verbally — though not in the motion's text — its intention to continue pool testing and to make N95 masks available to any student or staff member who wants one. Town Epidemiologist Katrina Wilcox-Hagberg reported that 86 percent of Littleton residents are fully vaccinated, 72 percent of the town's 5-to-11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, and approximately 63 percent of the total fully vaccinated population has received a booster. The Board of Health posted an emergency meeting for Monday, January 31, at which School Committee Chair Matt Donahue and Superintendent Kelly Clenchy planned to present the request.