ABINGTON, MASS. (WHDH) - People attending the Abington School Committee meeting on Tuesday will have the option to not wear a mask after the venue got changed to the police station.
The meetings are typically held at the Abington High/Middle School library, where there is a mask mandate.
Abington School Committee Chair Wendy Happel made the decision to move the meeting to the police station’s community room so that masks are not mandatory.
“Our selectman, our board of health, our planning board, none of those people are masked,” she said. “Why can’t I change my location so everyone is comfortable?”
During past meetings that required masks due to it taking place within the school, Happel says parents have said that they could not hear all members speaking because the masks made communication muddled.
Happel added that it is important to provide the same equity for everyone that attends the meeting, including those who are hearing impaired, people with breathing issues, and those who have experienced trauma in the past and may have issues like PTSD from masking.
“I’m providing a space for everyone to come to the meeting as they wish, mask or no mask,” Happel told 7NEWS. “I feel it’s up to each individual to decide what to do with their own body.”
The Department of Elementary & Secondary Education and the Abington Superintendent allegedly told Happel that if the meeting was held within the school and someone did not have a mask on, they would either be escorted out or would have to provide a doctor’s note to the school nurse before entering the building.
“As adults, I don’t believe any one of us should have to provide a doctor’s note regarding our personal medical background to our children’s school nurse,” Happel said.
She added that other school committees throughout the state have also changed their location or gone back to Zoom.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)