Hatfield School Committee Defers Mask Mandate Vote Until August 23

HATFIELD -- August 11, 2021, Hatfield School Committee deadlocks on mask mandate, delays vote days before school opens. The committee debated for hours at its August 11 meeting whether to require or merely recommend masks for students and staff when school opens August 26, ultimately deferring a formal vote on Policy EBC Supplemental to a meeting no later than August 23. School nurse Gene Hobby urged the full committee to reinstate layered mitigation measures, citing substantial or high COVID-19 transmission risk in neighboring Franklin and Hampden counties and noting that Hampshire County remained at moderate risk. Elementary Principal Connor Driscoll argued that concentrating an unvaccinated student population in one building without a mask requirement would be "counterintuitive," while at least one committee member said she "won't vote for a mandate" and contended a strong recommendation would be sufficient in a community that recorded only two COVID-19 cases in the prior 60 days. Chair Rebecca Bench noted community emails ran roughly 14-10 in favor of a requirement. The committee voted unanimously to restore a three-member signature requirement on financial warrants, reversing a pandemic-era single-signature accommodation.