Beverly School Committee approves three-year administrator contract, outlines fall COVID rules

BEVERLY — August 25, 2021 — Beverly School Committee ratifies three-year administrator contract and rolls out full in-person reopening plan. The committee voted 7-0 Wednesday to approve a memorandum of agreement with Beverly Teachers Association Unit B, covering district administrators, after a brief executive session. Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Trocki presented the district's COVID-19 protocols for the 2021-2022 school year, anchored by a statewide indoor mask mandate issued by Education Commissioner Riley hours before the meeting — effective immediately for all students age 5 and older and all staff. Trocki reported that only 54 percent of Beverly residents ages 6 to 19 had received at least one vaccine dose as of August 14, far below the 80 percent threshold that would allow schools to reconsider the mandate after October 1. The district also announced a "test and stay" rapid antigen testing program for close contacts identified in school settings and reported that 1,459 students — nearly matching the pre-pandemic high of roughly 1,543 — had registered for district transportation.