Gilford schools revise mask policy after heated debate

GILFORD — After hearing impassioned statements for and against mandating masks after a recent COVID spike, the Gilford School Board voted 5 to 2 Monday to create a threshold for requiring targeted masking in the middle and elementary schools, and universal masking at Gilford High School.

The vote followed Superintendent Kirk Beitler’s presentation of current guidelines and recommendations to slow the virus spread, which has vaulted in Belknap County.

According to the district’s new policy, which may evolve with changing numbers, masks will be required for all high school staff and students when there are 14 cases at the school or three unrelated clusters of three or more students who test positive for COVID-19. Beitler urged universal masking because high school students combine for classes and activities across grades and cannot be easily separated. Students of any age frequently come to school with obvious signs of illness, he said.

At the same case and cluster threshold, targeted mask wearing will go into effect at the middle and elementary schools in Gilford and Gilmanton, depending on which grades experience outbreaks. The policies will be in effect for 14 days after the last case in a cluster has been identified, said Beitler.

“We’re trying to navigate as everyone is trying to navigate this COVID world, and mitigate as best we can,” said Beitler. “As the school board said, we’ll continue to revisit this in January and make any adjustments.”

Board member Michelle Heyman of Gilmanton said the policy follows state guidelines that urge masking when cases reach 2.3 to 3% of staff and students in schools. The new policy replaces the mask-optional practice the board adopted in August.

“Now we’re in a different phase with COVID-19,” Beitler said. “We’re seeing spikes in different part of the country and in New Hampshire," which recently topped other states in cases per capita. “When you look at the spread across the state and county, across Belknap County, the transmission is considerable.”

In Gilford on Nov. 29, there were 58 known cases of COVID, with 18 active cases in Gilford schools. As of Dec. 7, the caseload dropped to four in Gilford High, one in the middle school and two in the elementary school, according to the district’s COVID dashboard. For many schools, mask wearing is measure to slow the spread.

Parents in SAU 73 remain polarized when it comes to mandating masks in schools, with many citing data and personal experiences and values that determine their positions. For some it comes down to a debate between public responsibility to protect others and everyone’s right to make a personal health care choice. Facts and opinions aired Monday drew applause from opposing sides.

“I’m not an extremist either way. In September, I fully supported everyone making their own choice,” said Seth Cook of Gilford, who said he contracted COVID six months after he was vaccinated. With cases ratcheting higher in winter, “We have to decide what the jumping off point is” for masks in schools. “We have to make a short term change to quell the virus. I hate wearing a mask. But when I’m out in pubic, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Parents, including three local physicians with children in Gilford schools, spoke to the value of masks, especially with COVID cases in the area and at hospitals on the upswing in fall and winter.

“We are here to do the job of protecting the school community. With the appropriate plan in place, we will be successful again,” said one Gilford resident, who praised the district’s ability to keep schools open last year.

Nicole Hogan, a Gilford parent, argued for mandatory universal masking through March, to give families a chance to vaccinate their children, including those age 5 to 11.

“It doesn’t work if just one person is sending their child to school with a mask on,” Hogan said. Masking cuts down on the need to isolate, which is detrimental for student mental health, leading to depression and symptoms of traumatic stress, and eliminating services they receive at school. Masks slow the spread of other winter viruses that cause children to miss school, she said.

“I’ve been sad, disappointed, embarrassed and angry,” said local pediatrician Maude Aldridge. “It’s obvious with the outbreak before Thanksgiving that COVID is spreading rapidly without masks. COVID cases are so high that day care is no longer safe. The state of New Hampshire has the highest case rate now of COVID in the country.”

Aldridge said the positive COVID test rate of children at her medical practice has reached 50% on some days. “I feel Gilford should be leading by example. What are we teaching our kids if we’re not teaching them to wear a mask to protect others? DHHS guidelines say that everyone should be masking. Kids don’t get that sick, but the more kids get infected, a greater proportion will get really sick.” COVID is now ranked the sixth leading cause of death in children, Aldridge said.

Critics of mandating masks argued for individual and parent choice. They cited lack of proof that the cloth and disposable dust masks that most people use do anything to quell COVID spread. The dampening effects masks have on intelligible speech and hearing hinder learning at all ages, and masks can be particularly disorienting for the youngest children who pick up social cues from facial expressions and are trying to make friends. Many said masks provide a false sense of security.

Masks “are like a placebo. Everybody sees it and assumes a child is safe,” said Michael Costa of Gilford. “It’s not different than me walking around with a piece of paper in front of my face.”

“Masking is a personal health care choice we should be given,” said Laurie Di Costa of Gilford. “A majority of families' views are aligned with mine.” COVID vaccines are now available for every school-age child, and alternative precautions include frequent hand washing, proper rest and a balanced diet, she said. “Masking children is not going to mitigate risk.”

Skip Murphy of Gilford cited zero deaths in New Hampshire for kids ages 5 to 19, with COVID-related deaths beginning only in the 20 to 29 age group. “Only at 60-plus does that rate start to go up. It’s an old person’s disease, according to New Hampshire data. It may give good feeling to some parents. It takes away choice from others. Unless you’re wearing a properly fitted N-95 mask, it’s not going to work,” Murphy said. Murphy said his family has decided to send his grandson to school in a mask because the youngster has chronic respiratory illness.

“We should respect each other’s decisions,” said Michelle Tyler of Gilford. “If you want to mask up, let them mask up.” Air purifiers can be used to freshen air and mitigate viruses and bacteria, she said.

Colleen Crawford of Gilford, with four children in district schools, said her oldest in eighth grade told her, “‘Please don’t make us wear those masks. It’s horrible.’ He doesn’t care what he looks like. He cares about being able to breathe and not feel claustrophobic. Teachers are struggling to keep kids in masks. Mask wearing is a choice - just as whether you send your kid to school when they have a cold,” she said.

“COVID is a part of our daily lives. It’s here to stay. It will mutate. There are variants. People will get it,” said Kristin Marshall of Gilford. “A lot of this community is vilifying parents who don’t want to keep their kids in masks eight hours a day. We can’t keep our kids germ-free all the time. We have 12 active cases across our three schools. Laconia mandated masks, and they have 30 cases. We’re no better with mandated masks than we are without them. Let’s keep (schools) as normal as possible.”

Others championed masks as a critical deterrant.

Tim Gilles of Gilmanton said, “We can’t look just at what we believe as individuals. We mask up out of courtesy for others. When you come to school, this is a mixture of young and old. Anyone can transmit it. The goal is to create the best and safest learning environment. It’s what’s best for the collective, not just for this particular person. If we keep others safe, they’re not going to give the virus back to you.”

“My job is to give people the info they need to need to make decisions,” said Josh Morrison, a local emergency room physician and a father of students in Gilford schools. Public health is about protecting everyone, he said.

“Much like other infectious diseases, COVID is a moving target. We’re in trouble right now,” with insufficient ventilators and monitored beds available “to take care of patients coming through the door” with COVID symptoms and other urgent needs, Morrison said. “It’s not an individual decision.

"It’s not just about a kid in a mask. A lot of people are going to get hurt. We’re in bad, bad shape right now.”

“It’s a dire situation right now in health care,” said Lauren Cooper of Gilford, an emergency room physician at Concord Hospital – Laconia, with kids in Gilford Middle School. Two days ago there were 22 boarders in the emergency department “waiting for hospital beds that don’t exist," she said. Decisions should be made with others in mind. “The responsible thing to do is to look out for our whole community,” Cooper said.

A majority of Gilford and Gilmanton board members voted for the new plan, with board secretary John Sanborn and Gilford member Audra Kelly opposed. Sanborn emphasized the importance of individual rights.

According to recent data from the NH Department of Health and Human Services, 61% of eligible Gilford residents are fully vaccinated, and 66% have received one dose. In Gilmanton, 53% are fully vaccinated and 57% have received one dose. The goal proposed is to bring community vaccination rates to 81%, Beitler said.

On Dec. 15 from 4 to 7 p.m., the Partnership for Public Health will host a COVID vaccination clinic for children age 5 to 11 in the high school auditorium. People can also receive a second shot or booster shot at that clinic.