School Mask Requirement Extended to Feb. 28

04:44PM / Monday, January 10, 2022Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The requirement for face coverings in public schools has been extended through Feb. 28.

The requirement for masking had initially been approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education last August to expire on Oct. 1; that was extended to Nov. 1 and then again to Jan. 15.

DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley on Monday alerted school districts that that masking would continue to at least Feb. 28 and possibly beyond that, pending changes in pandemic guidelines.

"The mask requirement remains an important measure to keep students safe in school at this time," the extension announcement stated.

Schools that meet the 80 percent vaccination threshold may discontinue masking for those who are vaccinated. Those unvaccinated must continue wearing face coverings.

Only a few schools have reached that benchmark and some have continued to require universal masking rather than police the unvaccinated.

About 75 percent of the population is vaccinated and about 75 percent of those eligible for the vaccine in Berkshire County have been inoculated. The highest rates of vaccination appear to be among staff and faculty but student inoculations have been lagging.

But the Boston Globe found that broad disparities in vaccination rates for children ages 5 to 11, who were eligible for the vaccine in October. Some of the lowest vaccination rates are in poorer communities and the higher rates in more affluent areas.

In the Berkshires, Williamstown reported the highest rate of vaccination in that age group at 83.5 percent. But only 9.8 percent of the town of Florida's 51 children were inoculated and 24 percent of Egremont's.

Pittsfield had a rate of 44.3 percent and North Adams (and Clarksburg) 48.5 percent. Great Barrington and West Stockbridge were both more than 70 percent but Adams about 37 percent.

Boston's rate was about 36 percent compared with surrounding towns like Newton (88.7 percent), Weston (92.5 percent), Arlington (102.5 percent), and Needham (97.3 percent).

Tags: COVID-19, masks,

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North Adams Airport Commission Discusses Damaged Hangar

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
03:46PM / Monday, February 23, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Airport Commission discussed what to do with the now-closed, city-owned Shamrock Hangar on Tuesday.

Chairman James Haskins said that after pipes burst in the hangar last winter, the Shamrock has basically been sitting empty.

"Pipes were frozen in the walls and broke," he said. "It was shut down a year ago. The pipes are still broken, and the city did fix a broken pipe outside that led up to the building a few weeks ago, but we have to make a decision on what to do with that space and make a plan."

The city purchased the hangar in 2017 with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funds. It was subsequently renovated and opened as a public space. Commissioner Dean Bullett expressed disappointment that the building was never winterized.

"This is something that should have never happened in the first place," Bullett said.

Haskins clarified that the city intended to winterize the property, but due to "overlap," officials could not get to the hangar quickly enough to do so properly. He noted that although some work has been done to repair the hangar, the project needs to be completed.

Airport user and former commissioner Trevor Gilman said that when it was open, the Greylock Soaring Club leased space in the hangar. The city waived the lease fee, and in exchange, the club maintained and cleaned the area.

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