Marlborough School Committee votes unanimously to go fully remote Oct. 19

MARLBOROUGH -- October 13, 2020, Marlborough schools return to fully remote learning Oct. 19 as case rates climb. The School Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to accept Superintendent Michael Bergeron's recommendation after he reported school cases jumped from seven to 18 in four days and the 5-to-19 cohort's share of citywide cases doubled from 13 percent to 30 percent. Pathways, Connections and the METAS dropout-prevention program will continue in person; athletics and extracurriculars are paused. The Board of Health voted earlier the same evening to support the move. The district also has 22 open positions and has filled 77 hires since August, compared with five in the same period a year ago. Vice Chair Jaime Hennessey pressed for structured virtual options for music, drama and activism students, warning the committee was "kidding ourselves" if it assumed teens would not find unsupervised ways to gather.