Gill-Montague School Committee Votes 7-1 to Start School Year Fully Remote

GILL — August 18, 2020 — Gill-Montague School Committee votes 7-1 to open the 2020-2021 school year fully remote. The committee accepted Superintendent Brian Beck's recommendation at the August 18 meeting, with Beck citing incomplete HVAC assessments and undelivered personal protective equipment as factors alongside public health data showing zero COVID-19 cases in Gill and Montague as of August 12. Carl Juror, president of the Gill-Montague Education Association, read a statement saying 70 percent of district educators supported remote instruction and that 39 percent of staff were in high-risk health categories. School Committee member Heather Vignier cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing that case rates in Franklin County met Harvard Global Health Institute, CDC, and WHO thresholds for safe reopening. The committee set September 8 as the first mandatory review date and also unanimously ratified three union contracts covering educational unit, cafeteria, and custodial and maintenance employees, with wage increases ranging from 1.5 to 2 percent across fiscal years 2020-2022.