Some meetings in Provincetown are in person, some are online, and some are both. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a link to an agenda with details about the event.
Thursday, March 24
- Board of Assessors, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall
- Open Space Committee, 2 p.m., virtual
- Personnel Board, 4 p.m.
- Planning Board, 6 p.m., Town Hall
Monday, March 28
- Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Trust, virtual
- Select Board, 6 p.m., Town Hall
Conversation Starters
School Goes Mask-Optional
The Provincetown School Committee unanimously voted on March 16 to adopt a mask-optional policy, with several stipulations.
Students still must wear masks on buses, which Supt. Suzanne Scallion noted are “packed” and do not allow for social distancing. Students in the preschool and pre-K programs, most of whom are too young to be vaccinated, must continue to wear masks. So must all teachers and staff in contact with them.
Incoming vendors and visitors must also remain masked until they reach their destinations. For parents, this might mean wearing a mask in the hallway while walking to a classroom where they’re meeting with a teacher. A maintenance worker would wear a mask until reaching the area of the building requiring service.
“Whatever we decide today, we’re going to be respectful and we’re going to honor personal choice,” Scallion said to the committee. She added that she would continue to wear a mask when walking around the school to convey the message that it’s okay to wear one.
Provincetown’s policy, like that of the Nauset Regional Schools, authorizes the superintendent to adapt the policy based on current town and county health metrics, in consultation with the school committee chair.
Provincetown was one of the last in the state to go mask-optional after Gov. Charlie Baker announced the state would waive the mask requirement for schools on Feb. 28. Most Massachusetts school districts dropped mask mandates that day, according to the Boston Globe. Nauset middle and high school students had to wait until March 7, and Wellfleet Elementary students waited until March 14 to unmask. —Abbey Dwight
